Playing With Fire
by Clez
Summary: Set after X1. Everything seems to have calmed down, but when one of the group is kidnapped, everything goes terribly wrong. Includes new characters, ie: Gambit and others ;)
1. Chapter 1

The school grounds were strangely quiet, and it was slightly unnerving. Children sat in small groups conversing, not doing much else. The usual game of basketball was not being played and the court was empty.  
  
Scott Summers walked past a discarded soccer ball and kicked the basketball back towards the court, not taking his hands out of his khaki trouser pockets. Even though the sun was hidden behind thick clouds, Scott wore deep ruby quartz sunglasses. He had no choice in the matter. If he were to remove the glasses without closing his eyes, he would destroy all that surrounded him. He had been cursed with the power many years before. He had sat alone for two months without opening his eyes after the first incident. He hated it and wished it would just disappear. But, as Professor Xavier had explained to him many times over the years, it was not a 'curse'; it was a 'gift'. It was there to stay. It could not be removed or cured.  
  
Scott sighed and spotted a pair of students sitting on a picnic blanket under one of the many huge trees. He recognised them instantly. Bobby and Rogue. They too were like him, 'cursed' with a power that would never go away.  
  
Bobby's power was controllable; he could turn things to ice and create ice in his hands if he wished to.  
  
Rogue's power was much more of a curse than anyone else's; if she so much as touched another human being with her bare skin, she would draw all of their energy, life force -and in the case of mutants like themselves- their power into herself. She had run away from home after nearly killing two boys in her hometown. They had taken her in though.  
  
"Hey, Scott!" Rogue called and motioned for him to join them. Bobby smiled and waved.  
  
All of the children at the school were pleasant and well mannered, even to their tutors. They were grateful that these people had taken them in, no questions asked.  
  
He moved over to them, smiling. "Hi," he greeted, "having a picnic or something?"  
  
Bobby nodded. "Yeah. We felt like doing something different."  
  
"Oh," Scott said, then turned his head to look over at the other children. "Do you think they wanted a change as well?"  
  
Rogue cocked her pretty head and asked, "What do you mean?" The white streaks at the front of her hair gave her a unique look and added to her powerful personality.  
  
"Well, they're all just sitting around, doing nothing," Scott explained. "They're usually energetic." He turned back to the two students, his glasses creating a red haze in front of his eyes.  
  
They both shrugged.  
  
"Well," Scott sighed, "I'll leave you two alone then." He started to move away.  
  
"Bye!" Bobby and Rogue called simultaneously.  
  
Scott moved back toward the mansion to see if he could find Jean Grey, his girlfriend. He had barely seen her all day, and wanted to talk to her. He just wanted to be with her.  
  
As he entered the huge mansion through its large oaken doors, a familiar -and once annoying- voice called out to him.  
  
"Hey, Cyclops! How are you?" Logan blurted as he walked up to Scott.  
  
Cyclops was the pseudonym that Xavier referred to him by.  
  
Logan's power was incredible healing. But, he had been experimented on, and an extremely strong metal called adamantium had been surgically grafted to his entire skeleton. His main defence in battle was his metal claws that protruded from in between his knuckles.  
  
Logan's behaviour as he walked up to Scott was beyond weird. He was smiling, and he had asked Scott how he was! Logan never did that on a normal day, so he asked, "What are you after, Logan?"  
  
Logan ran a large hand through his animal-like hair and simply replied, "I'm not after anything Scott. Can't I ask how you are every now and then?" Logan tried hard to look offended, and failed miserably.  
  
Scott shifted on his feet, one hand still in a pocket. "No, not without making me paranoid," he replied, smiling. "What are you after?"  
  
Logan opened his mouth to protest, but sighed and shrugged, simply saying, "You got me. Was it that obvious?"  
  
Scott nodded and searched around in his pocket. He pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to Logan saying, "Here Wolvie. Go play." Logan caught the keys to Scott's black motorcycle in one hand.  
  
"Thanks. I won't forget this," Logan called as he walked out of the mansion.  
  
"Yes you will," Scott mumbled after him.  
  
Wolverine was Logan's pseudonym, but he didn't use it often. Dog tags hanging around Logan's neck read the animal name, but that was about it.  
  
Scott continued walking down the huge corridor towards the elevator. Just as he was about to reach it, the doors opened and Storm -a mutant who was able to control the weather- stood before him. She looked up at him, surprised to see him there.  
  
"Hi," Scott said, smiling pleasantly. He took his hands out of his pockets, resting them at his side.  
  
"Hello, Scott," Storm responded, returning the smile.  
  
Scott ran a hand through his brown hair and inquired, "Have you seen Jean? I'm looking for her."  
  
Storm thought for a moment, cocking her head slightly, and replied, "No, sorry. I haven't seen her all day come to think of it." Then she repeated, "Sorry."  
  
"Oh," Scott mumbled, looking down from the black woman's face. "Thanks. See ya' later." He moved into the elevator after allowing Storm to leave. He watched her move down the corridor, her long white hair flowing behind her, and closed the doors.  
  
The elevator moved down the shaft silently, calling no attention to itself. Suddenly, the doors opened with a quiet ping, revealing silvery- white walled corridors. Scott moved down one in the direction of the lab. The walkways were abandoned, making them appear unused.  
  
Scott sighed to himself, listening to the sound of his shoes hitting the metal floor. He neared the laboratory and half-expected Jean not to be there.  
  
But she was.  
  
Sitting at the table, looking into a microscope was Jean Grey.  
  
Scott smiled and moved over to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
  
She started and looked round, only to smile at who she saw. "Scott!" she exclaimed, still shocked. "I didn't hear you coming."  
  
"I thought you were psychic," Scott quipped.  
  
She narrowed her soft eyes and smiled. "I wasn't concentrating on that, okay?" She turned back to her microscope, removed the small slide and turned off the little light. She took her hand away from the slide, as if wanting it to plunge to the floor.  
  
Scott almost reached out to catch it, but stopped when he realised Jean was making the slide suspend in mid-air. Scott smiled as it moved over to a container. The lid of the holder opened, allowing the slide to descend into it. The cover closed gently. Scott laughed quietly.  
  
Jean's telekinetic ability was improving, as were her mental skills. He was especially proud of her for the psychic abilities she possessed.  
  
A couple of days earlier, it had been late before Scott had gone to their room, feeling hungry. When he had arrived, Jean had prepared him a sandwich. She had sensed him coming and had felt his hunger. It had temporarily shocked him that she had reached that level. But, her lessons with Professor Xavier were going exceptionally well. At least that was what the Professor had told Scott when he had inquired. The lessons were private, allowing maximum concentration for the two.  
  
"So," Jean began, her voice tender, "why are you here?"  
  
Scott seemed surprised at the question and fumbled for a reply, "I just haven't seen you all day, that's all."  
  
Jean nodded and exhaled. "Okay. But next time, let me know you've come in." She smiled warmly.  
  
Before Jean could continue in any way, Scott leaned forward and kissed her. She didn't resist at all. She had wanted to see him all day too.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan parked the motorcycle with expert precision in the garage, and cut the engine, removing the keys afterwards. The trip had been pointless, but he loved to take little joy rides on Cyclops' bike, just for the hell of it. It was a magnificent and impressive vehicle with some cool gadgets.  
  
Maybe I can get one of those from Chuck, Logan thought to himself, I'd probably crash it within a week! At that thought, he grinned.  
  
There was a sudden, shrill sound behind him. He whirled, allowing his menacing blades to slide out from his knuckles.  
  
A dark figure dressed completely in black stood before him. The figure squealed and Logan realised it was his young friend Rogue standing there.  
  
"Sorry," she breathed, "I saw a spider. Why have you got your claws out?"  
  
He grunted and retracted the slivers of adamantium, wincing slightly as he felt them move inside his arms back into his forearms, and the skin between his knuckles fuse back together, leaving no trace of the deadly weapons that were there only moments before.  
  
"Be careful with those," she joked, "you could have someone's eye out."  
  
Logan made an indelicate sound and asked what she was doing.  
  
"I came down to find you. I knew that you'd be out on Scott's bike."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's the most exciting thing in this wet-cloth of a base," he replied.  
  
Rogue laughed, silvery peals of laughter echoing around the bare room.  
  
Logan glanced about at the five or six cars around Cyclops' bike and remembered the underground complex and Blackbird jet.  
  
"How can Chuck afford all this anyway?"  
  
"Well," she replied, "the other kids say his parents were rich and he has lots of shares in huge companies. He runs it pretty well though."  
  
Logan lifted one eyebrow. "But how can he run this place if he can't even walk himself."  
  
Rogue stifled a giggle raising one gloved hand to her pink lips.  
  
"Don't make fun of Professor Xavier!" she scolded him mockingly. Logan smiled to see Marie happy again compared to when they had first met, her a runaway after putting her boyfriend in a coma and stealing a ride with him. He thought back about the days before he met Rogue, Xavier and the others. He had wondered the States finding work where there were no questions asked when a man could lift twice his own body weight. He had been like that for years before, his memories blurring.  
  
Before even that, he had been in the military facility where they had implanted his skeleton and claws into a killing machine.  
  
He had revisited the abandoned institute recently finding only empty rooms, some with old pieces of machinery too big to move, dust-choked and broken. His walk through there had brought dimly remembered flashes of images and feelings. Metal instruments, masked people, blood and the pain. Lots of pain.  
  
"Logan?" Rogue murmured, bringing him out of his reverie. She looked concerned for him. He smiled again, showing his long canines and putting her at ease.  
  
"I have to meet up with Chuck, Storm and the others. Magneto and his goonies are still out there."  
  
"Can't I come?" she whined.  
  
"No," he replied, smoothing the black dress on her shoulder. "You nearly died once. I don't want to lose you again."  
  
"But-" she objected.  
  
Logan cut her off, "No arguments. Go and study."  
  
Wolverine thought about meeting the others again and seeing Jean Grey. The way she walked, the way her hair rested on her shoulders, the way her eyes shone. Logan couldn't stop thinking about her. Even if she was spoken for.  
  
* * *  
  
Ororo strode confidently down the polished floor past the oak panelling and doors where she could hear the gifted children having classes. She walked up to the secret elevator and, glancing around to check no students were near, she flicked the switch, and a section of wall slid open, revealing a small white room. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the journey four floors down. She stepped in and the wall panel closed behind her. The elevator was big enough to accommodate Professor Xavier's wheelchair, still too small for her liking. She had made this trip a thousand times, but her claustrophobia always acted up.  
  
The door slid open again and she stepped into the silvery-white corridors that were so familiar to her. She walked off toward the briefing room.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean rubbed her eyes and replaced her spectacles. She pushed the microscope away and replaced the slide.  
  
Scott had gone up to take a shower before the meeting.  
  
She walked to the door, took off her white lab coat, smoothed down the creases in her blouse and put her blue jacket on. She knew she'd worn the wrong shoes when they started to pinch. She thought about going up to her room and changing them, and surprising Scott in the shower, but dismissed the idea. They would be late for the meeting. She smiled to herself as she walked down the hall towards the briefing room.  
  
* * *  
  
Charles trundled towards the briefing room to meet with the X-Men. They had all come a long way since he had first met them. As the automatic doors slid open, Xavier could already sense that Cyclops and Wolverine were in the room, probably arguing.  
  
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted them as he came in. The room was circular with computer displays and television screens around the walls. In the middle of the room was what Wolverine referred to as 'Arthur's table'. It was a circular, fairly low table with spaces for each of them. On top of the table at each place was a small computer readout and in the centre, a large holographic emitter.  
  
Wolverine and Cyclops were on opposite sides of the table, Scott leaning on the table with one hand on his knuckles and one finger jabbing at Wolverine, and Logan leant back in his chair with his feet on the table.  
  
"Good afternoon, Professor," said Cyclops.  
  
"Hi, Chuck," greeted Wolverine.  
  
With a quick glance in his direction, Charles continued, "I see the women have not arrived yet."  
  
"Probably powdering their noses," Wolverine quipped.  
  
Cyclops opened his mouth to protest, probably to ignite the inappropriate sparks between the two, only to be interrupted by the entrance of Storm.  
  
"Good afternoon," she greeted, voice pleasant, "sorry I'm late."  
  
Charles nodded his appreciation of her apology, and she moved to sit beside Wolverine, leaving the seat beside Cyclops for Jean.  
  
Will you be long? Charles asked his missing student.  
  
The door clicked open.  
  
"No, I won't, Professor," came Jean's voice as she entered.  
  
"Hi," Wolverine greeted, his smile growing wider by the minute, much to the disapproval of Cyclops, who just glared behind red sunglasses.  
  
Charles took note that all of the X-Men wore casual dress, probably not knowing that Wolverine would request a gathering. He was going to request they gather himself anyway.  
  
Taking his seat between Storm and Jean, he began the unscheduled briefing, "Logan, would you like to tell us what, exactly, this is all about?"  
  
Logan removed his feet from the large table, resting them on the floor and leant forward, appearing more professional. "I just thought we should all remember that Magneto and his goonies are still out there. They're a threat, if I'm not mistaken." His voice was stern and his message had been direct and to the point.  
  
Charles was surprised at Logan's immediate response and the urgency in his gruff voice. When they had first met, Logan had not had the longest concentration span. He hadn't even wanted to join the X-Men. Xavier understood that Logan had had a difficult and disturbing past, but he had most definitely got his act together. More than that, he had become a second-in-command to Cyclops, even if Scott wasn't pleased with the circumstances. But now they were a stronger team due to Wolverine's arrival. He was a valuable member of the group, his sheer stamina raising their chances of success in battle. Even though Charles was sickened by what 'they' had done to Logan, it was an advantageous capability.  
  
Charles responded with certainty, "Magneto is locked away, in a plastic prison I might add." His tone was intended to reassure Wolverine, but instead it drew an instant protest.  
  
"But Sabretooth isn't," he blurted, not expecting a response, least of all from Cyclops.  
  
"I blew him right out of the Statue of Liberty, remember?" Scott imparted confidently. "I think he might be dead."  
  
Logan huffed like a foiled child and continued, "Toad?"  
  
"Fried. Sorry," Storm said, as if killing someone so insidious as Toad was a wrong action.  
  
Charles could see the frustration was building up inside Wolverine by the way his eyes flicked around the room, as if unwilling to surrender his plight for action.  
  
"Mystique! We know she's not dead," Logan almost shouted, his low grumble of a voice almost going high-pitched.  
  
Cyclops sighed and commented submittedly, "I hate to agree with Logan, but... I do."  
  
Wolverine appeared almost smug at the response he had drawn from Cyclops and settled deeply into his padded chair, having contributed enough for one briefing.  
  
"Yes, Logan, you are right," Charles agreed, nodding his head. "First of all though..." he stopped, waiting for a response from Logan. He got one.  
  
"What?" the man mumbled indecisively, shaking his head in the slightest way. The look in his brown eyes was one of curiosity. Logan was taking interest. It was a good sign of his progression.  
  
Charles continued without hesitation, putting Logan at ease, "I have had a rather interesting phone call from a mutant named Gambit who wishes to help us."  
  
This time, Cyclops put in a question, "Help us, how?"  
  
Charles could sense the doubt in Scott's mind, but he intended to put that aside, as he replied, "Help us in stopping Magneto."  
  
The table was quiet. Looks were passed between the four, but no conversation. All of them were still so young.  
  
All of them still have their hair! Charles thought humorously.  
  
"Cyclops, I want you to go and rendezvous with Gambit. Take-"  
  
Logan cut him off with an abrupt, false cough. Charles persisted, taking the hint, "Take Logan with you."  
  
At that comment, Storm straightened instantly and glanced at Cyclops, who stared at Charles, unsettled.  
  
"Professor," Storm said, facing him, "are you sure about this?"  
  
Charles understood the question, its purpose and why she had asked it. "Logan is a wise choice, Storm. He has heightened senses and will be able to defend the both of them quickly," he explained in a fatherly tone. "Do you understand my decision?"  
  
Reluctantly, Storm nodded. Cyclops still looked unsure.  
  
Charles sighed. This was quite childish of the team to debate who got paired with whom on a mission. Especially one as minor as this. He glanced towards Scott. "You will handle all affairs between you and Gambit."  
  
Scott nodded.  
  
Wolverine seemed temporarily agitated to hear Charles' last statement, but soon lightened. He was probably glad to hear he had been trusted with this assignment. He would be like a security guard for the two. If an urgent situation should arise, Wolverine would be able to defend them within seconds.  
  
"Well Logan, you have to admit, you're not the most diplomatic of people," Cyclops told him lightly.  
  
Wolverine smiled. At least, his lips curled and he showed his teeth.  
  
"What about us?" Jean inquired, speaking for the female faction of the X-Men.  
  
"For you and Storm," he replied, "I have a very special task." With that, he wheeled out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Note: I started writing this THREE years ago, so you'll have to forgive the style. It's still in work, but it's just about finished now. Plenty more to come. I'd really appreciate reviews. I'd like to thank ikhan11 for his help in the beginning. You might find some differences to the original X-Men cartoon etc later on, but I changed it because it fit better with my plans. Hope you enjoyed this. Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

Magneto considered the board. Smaller pieces, advanced into the fray. Sacrificed. They were unimportant, but they had been useful. Erik Lensherr now knew just how far and how viciously Charles would attack. The ball, to mix metaphors, was in his own court now.  
  
The man who was Magneto glanced around the board again. The faint thud of a door being thrown open came to him through the walls of his plastic cell.  
  
It was an interesting band of mutants Charles had gathered. Under different circumstances... ah well. They would have to go.  
  
His cause was just. He knew it was. That was just the way it was, just as homosapiens had eliminated cro-magnum man and the Neanderthal; mutants, or homomutatis as he had affectionately come to call them, were now eliminating homosapiens. It was just life, 'survival of the fittest'. And by Jove, mutants were the fittest.  
  
He himself had seen a mutant rip an iron girder in half without even thinking about it, warp the wall into a seat just to sit down. One he had seen could extend her normal looking arm eight feet across a room to pick up a glass of milk, and one with the wings of an angel. He had not enjoyed dissecting that one. It had been for the greater good of mutant kind though.  
  
A distant shout of pain echoed around the spherical room in which his polythene prison was contained.  
  
He considered the board again. The rumble of large machinery was heard.  
  
He would enjoy the look on Charles' face when he introduced his newest recruit.  
  
There was a thud as the platform met his cell, a soft beeping, a faint noise as of the rustling of a faint autumn breeze through drifts of sun dried leaves, a low growl followed by a smash and buzz, then the rustling again.  
  
Magneto stretched one bony hand forward, lifted a knight with perfectly manicured fingers and placed it down again.  
  
"Check. What kept you?"  
  
"I have a surprise for you," a feminine voice purred from the shadows behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
The low rumble of the Bentley engine seemed loud as the car swung round the corner on the deserted road.  
  
"So, who is this Gambit then?" Wolverine mumbled.  
  
"Well I've never met him before," he replied, squinting through his rose-tinted sunglasses. "From what the Professor tells me, he's a sympathiser with us. I understand he has the very unique ability to cause an object's atoms to degrade, making it unstable."  
  
"So?" Wolverine replied.  
  
"It causes them to explode."  
  
"So in summary, we're driving in an antique car to the middle of nowhere to meet an extremely dangerous mutant who neither of us have even seen before?"  
  
"That's about it, plus he's from the deep-south."  
  
Wolverine grunted his affirmation.  
  
"Where are we meeting him?"  
  
"Someplace called the 'Southern Blue Motel'."  
  
"Where is it?" asked Logan.  
  
The Bentley swung sharply into a small parking lot, and Scott hauled on the handbrake. The door catches clicked smoothly into place as they stood watching their breath curl away in the freezing air. They started up the path to the motel. Their feet crunching in the fresh snow, Wolverine began to sniff.  
  
"Cold? Or just upset?" Cyclops inquired, rubbing his cold forehead, just above his ruby-filament sunglasses.  
  
"Ssh." Wolverine glared, and then closed his eyes, concentrating. A faint scent came to him across the slight breeze. "I know that smell," he murmured, half to himself, "but it's different somehow."  
  
Cyclops became interested.  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
"I don't know... it's like... like burnt fur?" A metallic ring filled the air as Wolverine's claws exploded from between his knuckles.  
  
A giant clawed hand swung down and dug into the base of Wolverine's skull and lifted him clean off his feet and into a tree across the way, landing with his head on a rock with a solid thud.  
  
Cyclops whirled around toward where the sudden attack had come from, his hand automatically going to his temple and finding only his sunglasses.  
  
Cyclops stepped back nervously as the beast before him swung round. It was as he had feared; Sabretooth. Scott's eyes glanced down to the animal's chest where he knew he had blasted Sabretooth, hurling him from the Statue of Liberty. It was a mess; huge patches of blackened, curled skin hung in strips exposing red, corded muscle beneath. Black and burned fur was clumped together with dried, sticky blood.  
  
"I remember you," he growled in a low, guttural voice.  
  
"I bet you do," Scott murmured.  
  
Sabretooth flew towards him with a huge bestial roar.  
  
A confusion of flashing metal and claws whirred in front of him as something cannoned into the seven-foot monster. A spurt of bright red blood splattered onto Cyclops' leather jacket.  
  
Wolverine and Sabretooth rolled over and over in the snow.  
  
Scott fumbled in his bag for his visor. He heard a snap, and looking up, saw Sabretooth holding Wolverine by the neck. He saw Sabretooth pick up a fallen tree branch and impale Wolverine to a tree through the stomach.  
  
Sabretooth whirled around again and launched himself at the gaping, ashen-faced Cyclops. His sharp claws gouged through Cyclops' shoulder, making him cry out in pain. He delivered a ringing blow to the back of Scott's head with the back of one meaty hand. The last thing Scott remembered before he blacked out was something tight going around his chest.  
  
Sabretooth heaved the puny mutant over one shoulder and strode back into the nearby woods.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean swung back over the ledge to lay the screwdriver back on the pathway to Cerebro's interface. Picking up the soldering iron, she leant back and turned to the drawer she had opened connected to Cerebro's control junction. Lights and tubes winked at her in preoccupation. Touching the heated tip to a neural coupling link point, she called over to Storm, who was similarly perched on the ledge with her face to a drawer. "How's that?"  
  
"No," she called back, "the power system will just overload it. We need a phase reducer."  
  
"Okay, go and fetch one from the maintenance room." As she watched Storm walk briskly down the silver corridor, she marvelled at just how much Storm had learnt about Cerebro in the last day or so.  
  
"How's it coming along?" inquired the Professor as he wheeled in.  
  
"Just great," Jean replied, wiping her hands on her overalls. It was the analyptic lubricant, it got everywhere. She had, because her hands had been covered in it, dropped a spanner down into the huge room in which Cerebro was housed. She hadn't seen it hit the bottom, but the echoes had filled the room for a few seconds. "I sent Storm to get a phase converter for the power system, it keeps overloading the neural link."  
  
"I'd never thought of that," he replied. "It's so good to have some new blood working on Cerebro for me."  
  
"Here she is now," Jean remarked, holding in her hands a palm-sized cube of metal with various connectors all over it. Connecting up her safety harness, Storm leant back over and was soon busy at work.  
  
The Professor cleared his throat. "I'm hoping these adjustments will enable you to use Cerebro without waking up in a coma."  
  
She smiled at him, turned and leant back over the sheer precipice, the iron in her hand. Just as she was about to try the connector again, an alarm sounded.  
  
* * *  
  
Wolverine opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it. Pain stabbed into his eyes. He tried to get up, but found himself covered in electrodes and a pipe in his nose. Pulling it out, and resisting the urge to gag, he leant over the bed and squinted in the light. He could just make out Jean standing by an X-ray machine, holding his less flattering portrait to the light.  
  
He scratched his bare chest, knocking off a few off the electrodes, and smiled weakly. "So, got my shirt off again, Jean?"  
  
She whirled, her white lab coat flowing behind her like the tail of a gown. She did not return the friendly smile he had given her. His own smile fell.  
  
"You were badly injured," Jean stated, her tone serious and somewhat distraught. "Not even your powers could have saved you completely."  
  
He cocked his animalistic head, confused.  
  
"It's lucky Gambit found you when he did."  
  
For the first time then, he noticed a man sitting in the corner of the room, riffling a deck of cards between his fingers into his spare hand. On his hands he wore black gloves that were absent of the fingers. Sandy- brown coloured curtains of hair hung over a black sweatband, which circled his head just above his light eyes. A metal staff rested by his side. He looked over to Wolverine, still riffling the cards.  
  
"Gambit?" Logan said doubtfully, looking the stranger in the eye.  
  
"Yes," Jean responded. "He found you hanging from a tree, your neck had been broken."  
  
Logan nodded half-heartedly, memories of the fight flowing back to him.  
  
"I thought you were dead," the man said in a rich Southern accent, which was similar to Rogue's, "but then you started to twitch. I saw your tags and knew you were with Xavier." The look in Gambit's soft eyes was of genuine concern. This made Logan's mind ease a little; Gambit was actually on their side.  
  
"What were you doing out there on your own anyway?" Gambit persisted, eyes narrowing a little.  
  
Something similar to panic flashed through Logan. "On my own?" He looked around the lab frantically. The room was empty apart from him, Jean and Gambit. His breath caught in his throat as he realised what must have happened.  
  
"What happened?" Jean asked.  
  
Logan explained all he had seen, down to the slightest detail, careful not to miss a thing, from start to finish. "You didn't find anything?"  
  
Jean looked to Gambit, them back to Logan, her jaw set grimly. "Only you, Scott's sunglasses and..." She stopped.  
  
"And what?" Logan almost shouted, desperate to hear what she had to say.  
  
"Blood," she muttered.  
  
Logan leapt from the cold bed, ripping the remaining electrodes off, and grabbed his ruined jacket from the table nearby, wincing at the difficulty.  
  
Gambit stood as Jean rushed toward Logan, taking hold of his muscular shoulders and forcing him to sit.  
  
Logan was almost tempted to knock her aside, but he just sighed and glanced at her instead.  
  
"You won't find him that way. The Professor can do a better job," Jean told him, taking his jacket and placing it back on the tabletop.  
  
"Cerebro," Logan offered reluctantly.  
  
Jean simply nodded, and continued, "It's what you feared."  
  
"Yeah, but..." Logan said quietly, "what does he want with Scott?"  
  
* * *  
  
Scott came around slowly, keeping his eyes closed through force of habit. By shaking his head slightly, he could tell that he had on neither glasses nor visor. His hands were bound together behind whatever he was sitting on, probably a chair. His legs were tied to it as well. It was weird, he thought as he shifted uncomfortably, and heard a slight metal clinking sound. They went to all this trouble to stop him from lashing out with hands and feet, yet gave him full access to his mutant power. It didn't seem right, but who knew what went on in the minds of the criminally insane?  
  
Bracing himself against the cold, metal chair, he prepared to unleash his laser-sight, which had nearly destroyed his entire high school and the main foyer of a train station.  
  
He opened his eyes.  
  
He saw.  
  
He saw as he had not done since he was seventeen, save for the odd glimpse. He saw a circular room, hewn from rock with a watery pool, split in two halves by the path of rock leading up to the island his chair was sitting on.  
  
He saw all this. Really saw it, crystal clear, and not through a red haze as he had for the last twelve years, since Professor Xavier had found him and given him his first ruby-filament glasses. That was all in the past now, before this wonderful thing had happened. If he wasn't so terrified to the very core of his being at being in the clutches of Magneto, he would be deliriously happy.  
  
Suddenly, a huge slime-covered tongue like a horrible putrid snake flew up and hit him on his injured shoulder, which he noticed was bandaged. He gave a cry of pain at the sting of the contact, and it tingled in agony for a few seconds after.  
  
An ugly, warted head of green skin, green hair, green teeth with yellow bloated eyes rose above the surface of the water some fifteen feet from him, about halfway to the door at the end of the path.  
  
"An X-Man, eh? Odd." With that, the head sprung out of the water and onto the path, crouching with its overly long legs folded up either side of the body.  
  
"Toad?" Scott croaked. "I thought you were dead."  
  
"Well, you thought wrong, one-eye!" The tongue shot out again, but slower than Scott had known before. "Your friend with the white hair burnt me up pretty bad, though. Me and Sabretooth have been arguing over who gets to rip that pretty white hair out of her head, chunk by chunk." Toad gave a disgusting gurgling sound that Scott took for a cackle. "That beast keeps saying she owes him a scream."  
  
"You evil son-of-a-bitch!" Scott struggled vainly to release his hands from the metal cuffs around the wrists to grip the creature's neck and squeeze. He didn't have his power, but he knew how to fight.  
  
Toad gave that horrible laugh again.  
  
The man known as Cyclops gave up and slumped forward in his chair, the cuffs biting into his wrists.  
  
Toad stood, revealing huge burn marks all over his skin and clothes, and dived into the water.  
  
Scott didn't know how long he sat there, exhausted, pain throbbing from his injured shoulder and he realised, the back of his head, where Sabretooth had struck him earlier that day. Or at least he thought it was earlier that day. It could have been days ago, he thought miserably. He continued to sit, the pain hurting so much he thought he might lapse back into unconsciousness. The thought of Toad and Sabretooth kept him awake, the white-hot fury of anger and revenge burning inside him. Could have been hours or just a few minutes he sat, he didn't know. It seemed like an eternity. Eventually, he heard a door slide open on hydraulics.  
  
Dimly, he looked up and saw a figure standing in the light. It strode towards him, getting bigger and clearer with every step. The illumination in the room brightened from unseen sources. As the man stepped nearer, he saw who it was; Magneto.  
  
He tried to remember about Magneto. There was something he had done or was trying to do, but as he looked at the man he knew as Magneto, something was wrong. Something was fogging up the higher part of his mind. His eyes looked up from the floor, where they had drifted.  
  
That didn't seem to matter though, as he looked into the face of an old man, quite a nice old man's face as old man faces go.  
  
"Hello, Scott." His voice was soft and gentle seeming. There couldn't be anything bad about this kind old man. A little part of his mind told him that this was wrong. It was screaming at him, but he couldn't hear it.  
  
"There... there was something, something I had to remember... remember about you." Scott winced in pain as he moved his shoulder.  
  
"Oh yes, I'm sorry about my underlings. They can be rather... enthusiastic sometimes. I'm sorry; they shouldn't have hurt you so."  
  
There, see. He had just apologised. There couldn't be anything wrong with this kind old man.  
  
No. No, that was wrong!  
  
He couldn't hear.  
  
"If I get you out of those nasty cuffs, you'll help me do a few things, won't you?" Magneto asked.  
  
Scott nodded dreamily.  
  
"The sooner you help me kill Wolverine and a couple of others with your visor, the sooner you can leave all this behind, and never be burdened with your power again, with the help of this belt."  
  
Scott glanced down at his chest. Over his clothes, a metal belt ran down the left hand side of his chest, with a strap going over the opposite shoulder.  
  
"But I don't want to put my visor on," he whined.  
  
"It's just for a little while, then you can wear the belt forever and see Jean Grey for the first time, properly."  
  
Jean.  
  
With the mention of his most beloved's name, his mind cleared. It felt like a cold rinse washing away the soapsuds and dirt of fogginess from his mind. He perceived true clarity.  
  
Looking up at Magneto, he saw him for what he really was; a bitter and twisted old man. He saw all the people Magneto had killed staring back at him from those cold, grey eyes.  
  
He gathered up all his reserves of strength, spat at Magneto, hitting him square in the eye and screamed, "Never!"  
  
"I see," Magneto replied calmly, wiping his eye, "that the drug has not worked."  
  
"I'm not that weak-minded, Magneto," Scott retorted.  
  
"Believe me, you will soon wish the drug had worked."  
  
Magneto straightened and checked the belt around Scott's chest, shoulder and waist. It sat over the civilian clothes Scott had been wearing at the time of his capture.  
  
Magneto turned on his heels and clicked his fingers.  
  
Immediately, the lecturous head appeared above the water and the door at the end of the path opened, and Mystique, wearing her usual clothes, that is naked as the day she was born, covered from head to toe in blue fish-like scales, crowned with close cropped fiery red hair, started walking down the path towards him. She passed Magneto on his way out and came to a stop in front of Scott's chair. The amphibian-like Toad leapt out of the water with surprising grace and landed, dripping, next to her.  
  
Twin primeval smiles leered at him from a foot away.  
  
Scott knew he was in trouble.  
  
He thought of Jean.  
  
* * *  
  
Note: Well, there you have Chapter 2. I hope it satisfied. As you may have noticed, the character of Gambit (a fave of mine) was changed subtlely. His eyes are blue, not red, and the French is gone. Not sure why, just seemed to fit better with my plans. I hope you are not too disappointed. Thanks for reading again! :) 


	3. Chapter 3

Charles sighed and set the headpiece of Cerebro back in its usual place. The machine had failed. Again.  
  
He had tried three times to locate Cyclops using Cerebro, but had been unsuccessful in all attempts. Jean would be terribly disappointed.  
  
He turned his wheelchair and headed for the door.  
  
Why couldn't he find Scott? It didn't make any sense. Unless Magneto had shielded him somehow. That had to be it... damn.  
  
Just before he reached it, the huge metal panels slid open to reveal Jean and Logan. Both looked upset. Jean's reason was obvious, but to an outsider, Logan seemed upset for no reason. But Logan blamed himself for Scott's capture. Logan didn't understand that this incident was fate and could not have been avoided. Sabretooth was stronger than Wolverine and nothing could change that. But still, Logan felt responsible.  
  
"Anything?" Jean wondered, hope flashing across her beautiful face.  
  
Charles just shook his head. Jean remained silent. Logan shifted on his feet uneasily, opening his mouth to repeat what he had been saying for the last hour. Charles cut him off, "It's not your fault, Logan. There was nothing you could have done."  
  
Logan seemed far from convinced as he objected, "I could have killed Sabretooth."  
  
"Magneto would have just sent someone else. Mystique or Toad," Xavier corrected Wolverine.  
  
"I would have killed them too, but either way, Scott would still be here." Logan's voice rose above the normal level, echoing around the room.  
  
Jean shook her head and stepped between Charles and Logan, almost shouting, "That's enough! This isn't helping."  
  
Of course, Jean was right. She usually was. Xavier nodded, Logan just exhaled restlessly, giving in to Jean's superior tone, stature and argument. He obviously knew she was correct.  
  
After waiting for the lingering tension to disperse Jean turned to Charles. "Gambit wants to talk with you." The look on Jean's face was serious, providing a clue to the urgency behind this meeting.  
  
Charles nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat alone on a wall, watching Bobby -among others- playing basketball. She smiled when Bobby scored, and took another refreshing sip of her bottled water. The warm breeze blowing around her, whipping through her soft hair, was pleasant, easing her troubled mind. Her mind clearing of all her permanent troubles, she closed her eyes.  
  
When she opened them again, her pupils adjusting to the presence of the sunlight, the basketball game had stopped, all the players listening intently to a boy with blue, spiky hair. Rogue couldn't recall what the boy's power was, but she was certain that his name was Gregg. Bobby turned his head to look over at Rogue, and he seemed troubled.  
  
She stood as he walked over.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, concern seeping into her Southern-accented voice.  
  
Bobby said nothing, just stared with sea-blue eyes. The eyes she had sat and stared into for nearly an hour the day before.  
  
"What is it?" she persisted, raising her soft voice slightly. She was beginning to feel extremely worried. Why was Bobby so hesitant to explain?  
  
"Something's happened," Bobby said simply, all expression absent from his soothing tone.  
  
Rogue shook her head in the slightest way and asked, "What?" She was beginning to feel like a stuck record.  
  
"Something's happened to Cyclops. He's missing." Bobby suddenly looked very distraught, and somewhat pale.  
  
"Who told you that?" Rogue demanded, her voice almost failing. She tried to remain calm.  
  
"Gregg went to see him about something, and he wasn't there. Nobody's seen him. Storm wouldn't say anything when he asked her."  
  
Rogue, still looking into Bobby's eyes, decided it would be a good idea to find Logan, and check this story with him.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan was bored with pointless introductions. Why not just learn names as you go along? It was easier to him done that way. But obviously, no one else agreed with him as Gambit entered Xavier's office, followed by two rather weak looking 'mutants'.  
  
All three looked reasonably normal, except for their dress sense, which -to Logan- was completely 'off the chart'.  
  
One looked like a wrestler, a rather dumbass wrestler at that. He was dressed completely in denim, and he had extremely close cut hair, which stood out against his serious, pale features. Logan thought he looked foreign, but decided it was best not to jump to conclusions.  
  
The other was a small girl who couldn't have been any older than Rogue. She had loosely curled black hair. A large yellow raincoat covered her other clothes, which reminded him of Gambit's ridiculous brown overcoat. In fact, she was quite similar to Gambit in a lot of ways. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn they were siblings. The yellow gloves on her small hands were missing the fingers. Something else he noticed was that she had chunky shades on her head, which resembled safety goggles. The rims were pink and the lenses were black.  
  
What is it with this girl and the colour pink? he thought, almost aloud. What's her name? Pinkie? The last thought made him smile, and he had to fight to stop a laugh. The name seemed appropriate for her.  
  
Professor Xavier interrupted his thoughts as he greeted the two strangers, "Welcome to my school."  
  
"These are some pals of mine from down south," Gambit said in his Cajun accent. "This is Dmitri, also known as Colossus. He can turn into metal at will... almost like a living statue, you could say," he continued, indicating the large man. Then he pointed to the girl. "This is Jubilee. She can create bright lights and energy which is quite blinding, and painful when it hits you."  
  
Xavier took it as his turn to play the name-game.  
  
"This is Dr. Jean Grey," he began, "she is capable of using both psychic and telekinetic capabilities."  
  
Jean smiled warmly, as best she could under the circumstances, and nodded.  
  
"This is Ororo Munroe, known as Storm. She can control several elements of the weather, which is most useful for distraction."  
  
Storm also smiled.  
  
Then Chuck turned to him. "And this is Logan, also called Wolverine. As well as extraordinary healing powers, and heightened senses, he has a very strong metal called adamantium throughout his entire body, and-"  
  
Chuck looked into Logan's eyes, and Logan took the faint hint.  
  
Logan stood.  
  
"Gambit, I think you and your friends will find this quite interesting."  
  
Gambit, Colossus and Jubilee glanced toward Logan.  
  
Bracing himself slightly, he raised his arms, clenching his fists and allowed his claws to glide out from between his knuckles.  
  
Gambit and Colossus exchanged looks which resembled shock and Jubilee gasped quietly.  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open, making Wolverine whirl. He retracted his claws when he realised it was Rogue standing before them. She looked disturbed, so Logan moved towards her.  
  
"Pardon me," she mumbled to Xavier.  
  
Chuck nodded and faced Gambit, "This is young Rogue. I will explain her power later."  
  
Logan was overcome with concern for his young friend. "What's the matter?"  
  
Rogue looked around her, maybe only just noticing the other people in the room. She turned her attention back to Logan, answering his question, "I heard a rumour about Cy-Scott, I mean."  
  
Logan turned to Xavier, raising one eyebrow.  
  
"I think you should sit down, Rogue," Xavier suggested.  
  
Rogue did as she was asked.  
  
* * *  
  
Scott knelt looking at the door, its thin sliver of light shutting out entirely, taking from him the only good thing about the bloody situation; his sight.  
  
He knelt now, his arms feeling that they were about to break from being held in such a horrible upward angle. He would have stood to relieve the pain in his back and shoulders, if they had not pounded his ankles almost to mush. They made him stand when they came to teach him. It wasn't worth his life not to stand.  
  
He knelt now, his head drooping forward and blood running from his shattered nose and a huge gash in his forehead, blood running into his eyes, stinging. That pain was nothing though, he had learnt. What he hated was the red mist it created in his eyes, so much like his visor and glasses had been.  
  
He knelt now, the metal cuffs biting into his wrists where huge puffy bruises had appeared because he had been manacled to the metal posts at waist height for what felt like weeks.  
  
He gave up on trying to get some of the two hours sleep Mystique and that slug had allowed him, and roamed his body mentally.  
  
He knelt now, and felt his uncounted broken ribs, his mashed ankles, his shredded shoulder and the hundreds of bruises and cuts that crisscrossed his bare chest, sometimes going under the belt he still wore, burning where it chafed the cuts. He thought one of his legs was broken under the combat trousers, but he was so numb with pain he couldn't tell. He didn't dare move his fingers to see how many were broken and shattered in multiple places.  
  
All these he catalogued and stored, waiting to wreak his horrible, bloody and above all, painful revenge.  
  
He knelt now, and shifted slightly, ripping open the wound on his shoulder. He clenched his teeth to keep from crying out.  
  
He knelt now, and sobbed.  
  
He knelt now, and thought.  
  
"Jean."  
  
* * *  
  
Gambit flipped another playing card over from the pack that lay face down on the desk. His accommodations were beyond grand: a large king-size bed, a great oaken table, wooden antique wardrobe, pleasant paintings and plush carpet. This was all new to him, unexpected.  
Yet still, he felt unwelcome. The fuzzy man with the claws was a little disturbing. The look in his feral eyes was unnerving, almost like pure distrust.  
  
But Gambit just wanted to help. Help defeat Magneto. Help find the mutant named Cyclops.  
  
He just wanted to help.  
  
Gambit sighed and shook his head, his brown hair falling around his face.  
  
He flipped another card: King of Hearts. He quickly flipped it back over and picked up the whole deck. He stood, placing the cards face down on the desk.  
  
He had been informed where everyone's rooms were, just in case he needed anyone. He decided to go and see the 'claw guy'.  
  
On his way down the hall, he heard a door open ahead of him. He continued walking, only to see the beautiful Dr. Jean Grey poke her head out of the large door.  
  
He stopped in front of her. "Hi, something the matter?"  
  
She turned to him, and he realised how red her eyes seemed.  
  
"Nothing. I just thought I heard someone," she replied, voice shaky.  
  
She had definitely been crying.  
  
He glanced behind her to see an overly large room.  
  
"Big room," he commented. "Looks big enough for two people."  
  
She just nodded in subtle reply, half-heartedly and went back inside, the door clicking shut behind her.  
  
That was odd.  
  
He continued down the hall, and came to a halt outside of 'claw guy's' room, knocking lightly.  
  
"Come in," came a low grumble of a voice.  
  
Gambit entered cautiously, almost expecting the man to jump out and try to kill him.  
  
Instead he was sitting on the edge of the bed, a blank look on his face.  
  
"Logan, right?" Gambit said, thick southern accent cutting through the silence like a knife.  
  
The man nodded.  
  
Gambit narrowed his eyes. "What's up with Dr. Grey? She looked like she'd been cryin' or somethin'."  
  
Logan stared up at him, expression cold, almost hard. "That's because she's involved with Cyclops." Logan's voice sounded menacing, almost a low growl.  
  
Crap! Gambit thought, mentally kicking himself in the ass, remembering his joke to Jean Grey about the size of her room.  
  
All he could manage was a quiet, "Oh."  
  
"You didn't know that?" Logan inquired, raising his eyebrows.  
  
Gambit shook his head violently, exaggerating the movement. "No. I don't seem to know an awful lot," he replied, raising his voice without realising it. He automatically returned to his normal volume; "This mutant Cyclops... I don't even know his power."  
  
It was true. Gambit knew of the X-Men, but he didn't know a whole lot about them: their powers, their names -apart from Xavier- or their histories. None of this had been explained to him until recently, the situation hadn't been described. Now this beast of a man was taking out this lack of clarity on the victim... him! It wasn't his fault if this group was so unorganised that two of them couldn't take down one other freak of nature. They made out like this Sabretooth or whoever was seven foot tall. If one of them had been captured, and the other nearly killed, then that was purely their fault and no one else could be given the blame.  
  
Logan looked up at him, that familiar anger still clear in his brown eyes, along with something else, something else that was unexplained. "He has this energy that flows out of his eyes. That's why he wears the sunglasses or the visor all the time."  
  
"Can't he control it?"  
  
"No. Ever since he was seventeen, he hasn't been able to see normally. He sees it all through a red haze," Logan continued to explain, a certain edge becoming clear in his gruff voice. Then he sighed, and his tone became quiet and somewhat sympathetic. He lowered his gaze as he mumbled, "He's never even seen Jean properly." He looked back up at Gambit, and Gambit finally understood the guy's attitude toward the already sensitive subject... Logan obviously felt responsible for the disappearance of Cyclops. That was understandable. Gambit would have felt the same way if it were him. Anyone would.  
  
"I know this is a sensitive subject for everyone, but..." Gambit began quietly, carefully, "what's his real name?" Something else that remained untold.  
  
Logan exhaled slowly, and replied, "Scott Summers."  
  
Gambit simply nodded.  
  
"What about you?" Logan inquired, changing the subject, obviously finding no reason to continue on the issue. "What's your real name? Your parents couldn't have called you Gambit."  
  
Gambit smiled and he felt himself go red as he answered, "Remy. Remy LeBeau."  
  
The change in the conversation had clearly eased the anger in Logan as it vanished from his features. He smiled in response and gave a small laugh.  
  
"No wonder you call yourself Gambit!" He laughed a little louder. Gambit didn't mind, as he laughed with Logan. He was just happy to see Logan pleased.  
  
Maybe now, Logan wouldn't be tempted to kill him.  
  
But then again, maybe not.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: There are, as I'm sure you've noticed, a couple of differences in this addition as well. I feel it is, as always, my duty as author to explain. :) So here they are... Colossus' name was changed purely for the shameful reason that at the time of writing this, me and my -at that time- co- author, did not know his actually name, and so he is called Dmitri throughout. I hope this doesn't majorly bother anyone. My apologies if it does. Also, you may have noticed the age Logan gave for the beginning of Cyclops' powers. The cartoon version differs, but I have taken my, naturally, from what Bryan Singer intended before the scene was cut. Thanks, and keep reading! I'll have another chapter for you soon. 


	4. Chapter 4

Jean lay alone in her huge bed, and shivered. It wasn't cold, and she had already closed the windows. It was a general, unexplainable shiver.  
  
She rolled onto her side, reminding herself once again that Scott would not be there.  
  
Will he ever be there again?  
  
She banished the disturbing thought, and closed her eyes, but still found sleep unreachable. Impossible.  
  
She needed to keep herself occupied. Keep her mind busy, distracted. She needed to do something productive.  
  
She rose from the covers, many possibilities running through her troubled mind; she could go to the lab to do some more research, but she could do with a little rest from the world of science. She could go see Logan, but knew it would make him even more saddened then he already was, and they could all do without a temper tantrum from Wolverine. Enhancing her telekinetic abilities was another option, but it was a natural ability and didn't need any more development at the moment.  
  
But her psychic development was another matter entirely. That could be developed further and would be advantageous.  
  
A sudden thought flashed through her mind.  
  
Cerebro.  
  
* * *  
  
The door slid open with a quiet hiss to reveal the metallic walkway to Cerebro. Jean walked down it, her sneakers making almost no noise on the path. The last thing she wanted was any noise disturbance that would alert anyone nearby to her presence.  
  
The Professor had been unsuccessful, but maybe her connection with Scott would raise her chances of finding something. She just hoped that the adjustments to Cerebro had worked, and that she would emerge from her ordeal unharmed.  
  
She had already set the controls to locate Scott's brainwaves, and was moving towards the interface. When she reached the main panel, she kneeled to the correct height and took hold of the headpiece.  
  
Jean placed the instrument onto her head, and concentrated hard.  
  
The room around her seemed to expand, and the walkway extended toward the centre of the large, round room.  
  
Images of confusion flashed through her, urging her to increase her efforts. The images became less confused and more focused, but still no Scott.  
  
She tried harder, knowing deep down that she could damage herself. She didn't care. If it could help in their search, then she had to try harder.  
  
Something familiar to a surge of electricity flowed through her body, making her gasp, but she held her concentration as best she could.  
  
A sudden sharp pain stabbed into her shoulder, confusing and disorientating her. But still, she held on.  
  
Pain flowed into her right leg, her ankles, her arms, back, hands and chest.  
  
She cried out as the pain increased in intensity, when there was a sudden flash.  
  
Scott. Manacled to waist height posts, in unbearable pain.  
  
Then there was nothing.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan closed his tired eyes, and rubbed them with one hand. The lab bed he sat on was even less comfortable than a lecture with Xavier. But, someone had to keep an eye on Jean, who lay on another bed, unconscious.  
  
Why had she done what she had? It was understandable that Jean wanted desperately to find Scott, but brain damage didn't seem like a good exchange for some clarity on Scott's whereabouts. He didn't get why she couldn't just let Chuck handle the Cerebro issue. He had a better chance at making the machine work.  
  
But Jean hadn't waited, and had hurt herself. She would recover easily, but it hadn't been worth it, obviously. If Cerebro had worked, then Jean wouldn't have passed out. Nothing had gone right lately, nothing at all. Everything was going to hell, and they were all going to get sucked in eventually. The past few events had had to be an omen of some sorts, a message.  
  
Maybe this time, good was destined to lose the battle to evil.  
  
Logan shook his head, dismissing the incorrect thought, trying to replace it with a positive one.  
  
We will find Scott, Jean will wake up and we will kick Magneto's bony, old ass. There, that was better. He felt a little less useless.  
  
A sudden sound from the medical bed made him turn his head violently, making the pain in his neck return for a short while.  
  
Jean was moving slightly. That's a start, Logan thought as he shot up from the bed that he had been seated on and jogged over to her. Just as he reached her, she opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light. Logan placed his hand on her shoulder and she edged away from his touch. She looked up at him, surprised, and then touched her shoulder gently.  
  
"Are you okay?" Logan asked, worried that her brain may have been fried and that she'd end up being really... simple, or just so different she wouldn't be the Jean he knew and loved. He hoped not.  
  
Jean touched her shoulder again, more confident this time, and replied, "Yeah." Then she corrected, "No, I'm not." She rose from her bed, wincing again and rubbing her obviously sore head.  
  
Logan moved to push her back down, but she gazed at him, warningly.  
  
"I need to see Professor Xavier," she groaned, still rubbing her head, making an even worse mess of her hair. She clearly didn't care about her physical appearance at the moment; she had something else on her mind.  
  
"Well," Logan said in response, "I don't think Chuck is a happy little camper at the moment."  
  
Jean stood, wavering slightly, and then steadying. "I don't care," she stated blankly. Logan was taken back.  
  
"Pardon me?" he exclaimed, feeling the surprised look cross his face. He was unable to hold it back.  
  
Jean moved over to a small monitor showing her progress, and nodded, approving of the display. She picked up the sweater she had been wearing at the time of her ordeal, and put it on. She seemed more comfortable in her clothing, than in what she had been wearing. She ran a conveniently placed brush through her knotty hair.  
  
"Turn around," she ordered him, taking hold of her jeans and sneakers. Logan did as he was told, hearing her change quickly.  
  
"Okay," she said. He turned. The clothes suited her well, even though he had seen her more in a smart outfit of some kind. But she still looked as beautiful as ever.  
  
With a newfound confidence, she moved past him, grabbing his jacket, and headed for the door.  
  
"Where are we going?" Logan asked, allowing himself to be tugged along like a little cart.  
  
She stopped and turned, her long brown hair falling about her shoulders like a discoloured waterfall. She kept her firm hold of his black, red-striped jacket, and explained calmly, "We're going to see the Professor. I need to tell him what I saw."  
  
She released his clothing and continued down the corridor.  
  
It took Logan a while to take in what she had said to him. "Saw?" he asked, stunned. "You saw something?"  
  
She slowed, allowing Logan time to catch up. He matched her pace and turned his head to her, awaiting her explanation. He didn't have to wait long.  
  
"Yes. I saw something," she said, but her posture described her need to say something further.  
  
"And?" Logan demanded gently, stepping in front of the doctor, stopping her dead in her tracks.  
  
She sighed, reluctantly explaining, "Well, I also felt something."  
  
"What?" Logan persisted, needing clarification to put him at ease.  
  
She moved around him, making him turn and follow on her heels, "I'll explain everything when we get to Professor Xavier's office."  
  
"You know," Logan huffed, "it would be a whole lot easier if you just called him Chuck."  
  
* * *  
  
Jean laid her head against the cold tiles of the shower cubicle in her room, staring down at her feet. Her knees felt weak, and she laid one slender hand on the wall to steady herself. The most mundane of things, showering, eating, breathing seemed difficult with Scott... gone. She could feel herself trying to cry, but there were no tears left. The longing was unbearable, wanting to feel his arms around her, his breath on her neck. Her knees buckled.  
  
* * *  
  
The rack of 'implements' laid on the pallet gleaming; save for where the filthy man's blood was smeared on points, edges and hooks. A finger ran down the side of a scalpel, mostly clean. It wasn't used much, only as a key to the tenderness underneath the skin. Feet patted down the path, accompanied by a faint rustling. The door swished closed behind.  
  
He had told her to stop! She couldn't believe it. She had only just started. She could have really made him scream. A blue hand touched a button, a door slid open, blue legs walked through, followed by the rest of Mystique.  
  
A full-length mirror stood out as the only piece of personal furniture in an ulitarian room. Mystique walked to it and thought of something.  
  
Kneeling in front of it, the fish-like scales on her head and neck, colouring from their usual royal blue and moving to form a very obviously masculine head with short brown hair. To say that the man's head on the nubile woman's frankly naked body looked odd would be a huge understatement. Mystique threw back her head with a mocking wail of pain.  
  
"No, no!" Her insidious laughter filled her room as she revelled in the remembered pain of Cyclops. The fact that he was a man only made 'teaching' him better.  
  
Standing, and changing back to the usual blue skin, orange hair and golden eyes, she looked down in the mirror at herself.  
  
Men. She hated them ever since she was fifteen at the New Year's Eve party, when Greg Harlow had put his hands on her, and had, and had. Her fists clenched and unclenched, her brow creased and she remembered that which she most wanted to forget. She remembered when he did it she had wished, wished more than anything that she was someone else, someone else like Helen Harlow, a girl she could only admire, who was right then dancing the night away. She had felt it, all over her. Greg Harlow had evidently felt it too, because he had opened his eyes and was looking down at her.  
  
She could still see the look in his eyes when he realised what he was doing to the girl he thought he saw as his daughter. She took some small satisfaction when she heard the police had found his body, the revolver still clutched in his deathly white hand. She had never told anyone save for one person. She had just left.  
  
She felt the need to hurt someone and as she strode toward the room where her hobby was shackled, she saw the one person in the corridor, the one man she had truly liked, to whom she served.  
  
"No more," warned Magneto, "he is too weak."  
  
Mystique pouted coyly and returned to her room.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby turned his aching head toward the door as it swung open gently to reveal Storm. She looked tired, and there were dark circles under her kind eyes. She looked around the class as she entered, a white sweater tied securely around her slim waist. Her long white hair was tied back in a tidy, but rushed ponytail, and it bobbed up and down as she moved.  
  
She came to a halt at the front of the room and whirled, facing her pupils, opening her mouth to speak, but changing her mind and writing on the blackboard instead. The chalk squeaked slightly, but no one protested.  
  
Everyone was on edge, paranoid even. Waiting for a big bad evil to pop up and attack them. But, Bobby knew it was an unnecessary to worry. They were in Xavier's school, and nothing bad had ever happened to them here. They were safe.  
  
For now.  
  
He moved his head to speak with Rogue, who seemed more troubled than any of the others. Bobby couldn't blame her. Magneto had gotten to her before, and she knew what he was like, how sadistically evil he could be. But, she was only a teenager, and Scott was a man. Magneto would be firmer, more... persuasive.  
  
Stop that! Positive thoughts Bobby, positive! No more negativity for you, no sir. Idiot. With that, he tried to smile, to appear more at ease. But, he knew he had failed in that attempt. He could still feel the presence of his frown, copying the looks of the other pupils.  
  
The door clicked open behind them, and all the heads turned with one, fluidic movement. Some were shocked at who stood before them. Others were not. Rogue lowered her gaze and then glanced toward Storm, who still stood at the front of the classroom. She nodded to the person at the doorway, who then entered and perched themselves on a table near to Rogue. The table squeaked abruptly, making some students jump.  
  
"Sorry," came his voice, hushed, as if afraid he would further disturb the already disturbed class. Storm simply nodded to Logan who smiled weakly in reply. Storm continued to write on the board. Many children continued taking their rough notes, others sat in silence.  
  
Bobby listened intently to Logan and Rogue's conversation, knowing somewhere deep down that it was wrong.  
  
"Any word?" asked Rogue, her voice a whisper.  
  
Logan exhaled. "Not exactly."  
  
Bobby reluctantly turned his head, calling unwanted attention to himself from Logan and Rogue.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't mean to..."  
  
"It's okay," Logan eased quietly.  
  
Rogue persisted with interest, "What do you mean 'not exactly'? Did the Professor find something with Cerebro?"  
  
"Not exactly." Logan shook his head, frowning more and more by the minute.  
  
"There you go again! Specifics, Logan, specifics!" Rogue blurted, a little too loud.  
  
Storm didn't seem to mind, only shrugged. "I think it would be a better idea to end it there for the day. You can all study in your own time. I'm sure our concentration is far from here. You're dismissed." She placed the small piece of white chalk down and motioned for the children to leave.  
  
None hesitated, but Rogue and Bobby remained behind, waiting by Logan to continue their conversation.  
  
Storm nodded to Logan as she followed the students out of the room. Bobby watched her walk slowly out of the room, and gave himself a mental slap. Stop it. He turned to look at the others and found them staring at him.  
  
"What? I was just... just-"  
  
"This is sort of a private conversation, Bobby," Logan replied, "you can 'speak' to Rogue later, we have things to discuss."  
  
As Bobby shut the door behind him he heard Rogue speak.  
  
"Tactful, Logan, real tactful."  
  
* * *  
  
Logan looked into Rogue's eyes and thought; Can I really tell her this? This sweet little girl, already touched by evil, this little girl who has a childish crush on me? He steeled his resolve and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Sorry about your boyfriend."  
  
"Oh, he's not my boyfriend, we're just friends," she replied.  
  
"Sure, whatever."  
  
"Look, did you come to tell me something, or just to annoy me?"  
  
Logan could see she was getting anxious underneath the exterior moodiness, and so adopted a serious expression.  
  
"No, I have to tell you something serious, something about Cyclops, I mean Scott..."  
  
"He's dead, isn't he? No, he can't be, he's not-"  
  
"Marie!"  
  
Rogue froze at hearing her real name from him. So far as he could remember, it was the first time he had said it since Rogue had told him it in his camper that first day. It seemed so long ago.  
  
"He's not dead." Logan could see tears of relief in her green eyes, rolling down her round cheeks. "Jean used Cerebro, a kind of psychic thinking cap, and saw him. He's not dead, but it wasn't a pretty sight."  
  
"Does she know were he is?" she asked worriedly  
  
"No, but there's hope."  
  
"Yes, that's good- there..." Logan wiped a tear from her cheek with the ball of his thumb as she spoke.  
  
"It's okay, Rogue, we'll find him, now run along and find your boyfriend."  
  
Rogue managed a small smile and smacked his arm lightly with the back of her hand. Logan watched her leave the room, and decided to have a word with a certain young man he knew some time in the near future. 


	5. Chapter 5

He breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh, cool air from the riverside. It was a refreshing sensation, after spending months on end in the lair, recovering. Plus, it gave him a chance to think, not something he had a lot of time to do lately. Not since Sabretooth had brought in their entertainment.  
  
I hope Mystique is enjoying herself, he thought glumly, as he watched a small boat skim along the shimmering water. Ripples were sent across the surface.  
  
Toad looked about, having heard a minute sound, scratching absently at a wart. He could just make out three figures shrouded in darkness, sitting in the boat. The distant putputputput of the outboard motor drifted to him on the wind.  
  
A hulking great figure sat in the centre of the overcrowded vessel, as not to capsize the craft, a smaller person in front and behind it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the massive one was Juggernaut, and let's face it; Toad wasn't exactly going to win any prizes for brainpower.  
  
There was a slight bump as the dinghy hit the bank.  
  
An obviously female leg extended out over the boat in a fashion that film directors usually accompany with a smoky jazz solo.  
  
The figure finally finished getting out and pulled down the hood of her overcoat, showing off her long, blond hair, blue eyes and pouting red lips. This had to be Serena. Not a bad looking girl, if you discounted the way her arms and legs seemed to be much longer than they should be.  
  
"Hi," her voice was rich and throaty, "you must be Toad."  
  
"Yep. Ya' gonna introduce me to your friends, sweet cheeks?" She gave him a scowl that could have soured milk. Eventually she looked away and pointed to the human mountain. Now that Toad could see him up close up, he could see that he wasn't quite as tall as Sabretooth, but was hugely muscled, and must have had the strength of a dozen men.  
  
"This is Juggernaut." He was wearing what looked like a red leather sleeveless shirt with no front opening and what looked to be metal bands around his arms and upper fingers and knuckles. He seemed strangely out of proportion compared to his smaller, younger companions. Every part of his massive body was almost twice the size of a normal man's.  
  
But he is a mutant, Toad reminded himself before diverting his attention to the third member of the party. The last seemed to be smiling somehow, but his expression showed neither happiness nor sadness. Black hair rested lifelessly above his eyes, shining in the moonlight. His dark eyes stared at Toad blankly. As he rose from the boat, Toad realised just how tall he actually was; a good foot taller than himself when he stood to his full height. The mysterious third mutant moved over to Serena and put one masculine arm around her small shoulders, glaring at Toad.  
  
"And this," Serena stated, a wide grin crossing her pretty face, "is Warp." She turned to the man, kissing him passionately, disregarding their company. Juggernaut rose from the boat, grunting absent-mindedly as he passed by the couple. He crossed the short distance between himself and Toad, and came to an abrupt stop in front of him, looking down.  
  
"So," he growled, "are you gonna just crouch there gawping all day, or are you gonna take us to see this Magnet-man?" He glared down at Toad suspiciously.  
  
Toad rose slowly, revealing the burns on his body, and retorted, "I think you mean Magneto, pal."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Toad nodded slightly and turned on his heel, pointing to a small space across the way.  
  
"The chopper's over there."  
  
* * *  
  
Magneto's mind raced with mixed scenes, all seeming to blend together in one confused, meaningless image. He dismissed them... all but one. The look he expected to see on Charles' face when he confronted him with his small army; Sabretooth, Mystique, Toad, Warp, Serena, Juggernaut and Cyclops. What an army they would be. All with advantageous capabilities that would hopefully give them the upper hand in the inevitable battle. Some needed further training, especially Scott. He was not yet convinced, and Magneto had decided to give his mutants a couple more 'teaching' sessions with the young mutant.  
  
He looked forward to the battle between Scott and Wolverine; this would be most entertaining to all. Especially when Scott would kill Wolverine viciously.  
  
He couldn't wait.  
  
Footsteps echoing down the long hallway awakened him from his happy daydream, and brought his attention back to the present. He recognised some of the footsteps as his own team, but the others must have been the new arrivals.  
  
They entered his office quietly and halted in front of the huge, metal desk. He glanced up at them, looking straight to the recruits. He turned his attention to a couple; a tall, blond, attractive woman close beside a man with black hair and a blank expression.  
  
"You must be Serena and Warp," grumbled Magneto loud enough for the pair to hear. The woman nodded enthusiastically. Magneto took an instant liking to the girl, knowing that she would be a good fighter, would always be loyal. Essential criteria for his team. Unlike Charles and his mongrels.  
  
He turned his head to the final member. "Juggernaut, I presume?" he said.  
  
"Yeah, that's right. You must be... Magneto." He looked to Toad, who grinned, then continued, "Do you feel like telling us the reason we're here?"  
  
"I thought he'd never ask," purred Mystique, smiling evilly.  
  
Magneto glanced at the newcomers and chuckled. "My associates would like to show you their... how should I put it? 'Toy' perhaps? I suppose that is an accurate statement." He rose gently from his chair and came around from the table, and led the way to the cell.  
  
He could almost sense Mystique's excitement building up, the anxiety overcoming her as they neared the room. Sabretooth grumbled happily, while Toad just sighed.  
  
The door hissed open, and the room was instantly illuminated. Magneto waited for Serena, Warp and Juggernaut to enter before standing aside to reveal the captive... soon to be recruit.  
  
Scott did not raise his head, just knelt staring at the floor, his breathing unsteady and heavy. His right leg was rested in a strange position compared to his left, and his cuffed wrists were sore and bloody from being restrained for so long.  
  
For a brief moment, Magneto almost felt sorry for him. He instantly banished the thought, remembering that he was the reason that his original plan had failed. He had had Wolverine frozen, unable to destroy the machine, and the wave was not far from the island... when Cyclops had delivered a painful blast to his shoulder, knocking him away.  
  
He smiled at his discomfort, and whirled to face the new members. Confused expressions were plastered across their faces, but then Serena smiled sweetly, reminding Magneto of Mystique.  
  
"Who the hell is that?" Warp grunted, his voice staying on one tone.  
  
Mystique walked over to Scott, and paced around him, like a predator.  
  
"May I introduce Scott Summers," Magneto replied, voice increasing in volume.  
  
Mystique stopped pacing behind Scott and took hold of his damp, matted hair, yanking his head up violently. Scott's face was bruised and cut in several places, and he kept his eyes shut against the seemingly bright lights.  
  
"Also known as Cyclops," Magneto persisted triumphantly.  
  
Serena cocked her beautiful, young head and asked, "Why is he here? What does he have to do with anything?" And then she added, "Unless he's just here for fun, in which case, that's okay."  
  
Magneto walked up to Scott and crouched in front of him. Scott opened his eyes, and Magneto still found himself shocked slightly at just how blue they were. Erik stared coldly into his pained eyes and thought.  
  
Just how much damage can be repaired?  
  
"I told you that you would wish the drug had worked," he whispered into Scott's ear as he leant forward. Then he stood, looking into Cyclops' face. The silence from him was unnerving, but Magneto discounted it for fear of what may happen to him if he were to say anything.  
  
He moved aside to stand next to Mystique and continued, "We captured him a few nights ago. He leads a band of mutants who fight to save mankind. He is associated with a man named Charles Xavier."  
  
The reaction from Juggernaut was both understandable, and expected. He moved forward and delivered a devastating kick to Scott's obviously broken leg. There was a loud crack.  
  
Scott gave a loud cry of pain. Mystique released his head and marvelled at Juggernaut, a potential 'teacher' of Cyclops. There would be a problem with the more delicate work, though.  
  
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Serena's perfect brow creased with a scowl. "Are you trying to show us up in front of our new boss?" Juggernaut turned on her with a glare.  
  
"It's personal," he rumbled.  
  
"People, people, please." Magneto didn't raise his voice, a usual occurrence, even when he was angry.  
  
Different people could make other people quiet in a multitude of ways. Some shouted. Some threatened. Some removed painful looking instruments from their containers. Magneto just became very, very quiet.  
  
"Let's not argue amongst ourselves, we are forging a new alliance, an alliance which will create a new world, a world in which mutants can live without the threat of extinction by humans, where the evolution of the race can continue unabated, and we shall rule that place, my friends."  
  
The man he only knew as the synonym Warp gave a tiny wry smile, one he almost missed.  
  
"Forgive my impertinence, friends," Mystique murmured. "But how do we know you're as powerful as you say you are?" she inquired of the newcomers.  
  
"My dear, I've been studying them for some years now, Mystique, and I can testify to their prowess in battle."  
  
"That's as may be, but- Huh?" Mystique gasped as she felt the cold metal floor rise up and grasp her upper thighs and waist. Looking up she saw an even blanker than usual look on the face of Warp, his fingers twitching slightly as he concentrated on what he was doing. She rose up into the air, her weight on the chair shape she was now sitting on. Soon she was more than eight feet up in the air. Magneto was satisfied that Mystique would be impressed with that little show.  
  
"That's enough Warp," Serena's crystal voice rang out in the room. Warp's grey, almost dead eyes returned to the world of the living. Serena reached out an arm, as if to help Mystique down from a step. It seemed a futile move, until Magneto realized her arms legs and torso were elongating until her hands reached the flame haired woman, and gripped her around her bare blue waist. After what seemed an age of Mystique floating down, Serena set her down. "Anyway, getting back to what I was saying before," Serena said off-handedly, as if nothing had happened, "what is he doing here?" she pointed at the prone Cyclops, yet did not look at him. Scott moved slightly, as if he knew she was referring to him, but did not raise his head.  
  
"I see you are a curious young woman," Magneto replied. "That is good." He looked to his original team, who were still not entirely sure of Magneto's intentions. He decided it would probably be a good idea to clarify whilst everyone was present, even Cyclops, who was not yet converted.  
  
"He is an important part of my plans," Magneto began seriously, "I have a machine that is capable of controlling mutants' minds, and basically altering a mutants' personality."  
  
Scott looked up at the old man in realised horror, but remained silent. Magneto continued, holding an intimidating glare on Scott. "He knows his friends' weaknesses... and he will be the one to destroy them."  
  
An even greater look of horror crossed Scott's face as he mumbled, "No." he stared directly into Magneto's cold eyes. "I won't."  
  
Magneto gave a small laugh and told him, "I'm afraid you will have no choice in the matter." A wide, evil grin was plastered across his aged face as he continued, "You will watch their painful deaths through your own eyes, and you will be powerless to prevent it. You will kill all of them; Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Xavier."  
  
Toad gave a small chuckle, and Sabretooth grumbled happily, almost smiling.  
  
"No," Scott repeated, louder this time, more confident.  
  
Magneto pushed his torment to the extreme; "Even Jean."  
  
"No!" Scott shouted, struggling against the restraints.  
  
"I'm guessing this Jean is kinda important to him," Serena offered.  
  
"Very," Magneto informed her. "She is his weakness."  
  
Serena nodded. "Oh," she muttered simply, "I see." She glanced at Cyclops, who was beginning to look extremely distraught at hearing his fate. Magneto was expecting this reaction from the young mutant. He knew that Scott did not believe in himself, and that he would feel that his friends would blame him for his own capture, torture and conversion. That was just how Scott was: weak.  
  
Just how Magneto wanted him. 


	6. Chapter 6

Pain throbbing in his shattered leg, Scott watched them leave. Something different happened though... they left him not in complete darkness, but in bright illumination. Although it made his eyes sting to look around in the light, it was better to see what surrounded him. He did not get much of a chance in his 'teaching' sessions, so he took this chance to review the seemingly hopeless situation.  
  
As he looked about himself, he decided that it would have been just as beneficial to look around in darkness. There was nothing in the room, besides himself, and the restraint posts he was manacled to.  
  
An uncountable number of images showing his own demise flashed through his tormented mind, not one of them in the least bit tempting. It was doubtful that he would survive his predicament, so he saw no point in hoping.  
  
Oh for God's sake, Scott, shouted a distant voice in his subconscious, if you think that way, you're going to die no matter what happens. He barely heard it, but mentally took note of what it had said.  
  
He moved an inch, and instantly regretted it. Every single part of his body ached in any way possible. Arms, legs, feet, hands, head, back, shoulders, everything.  
  
Scott ran through his mind the explanation Magneto had given, and a shiver went down his spine while he fought back an overcoming sensation to gag. A revolting taste streamed into his mouth followed by the sensation again.  
  
But this time, he was unable to hold it back. He leant as far forward as he possibly could and vomited on the cold, metal floor, all the time fighting back overpowering unconsciousness.  
  
When he was absolutely sure he had finished, he moved back to the position that he found least uncomfortable, and breathed heavily, ensuring the taste had vanished completely. But, he knew that it would not vanish completely, some of it would remain for a long, long time.  
  
As he sat alone, the vile taste lingering in his mouth, he tried to think positively.  
  
He failed.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan pushed open the door to Xavier's office, and charged in. The Professor was sitting behind the desk, Storm seated opposite him, both staring at him, curiously.  
  
"I'm dying to kick some Sabretooth butt, but I'm stuck in this school," he whined, glaring at Xavier, who turned to Storm.  
  
"Storm, would you kindly lead the way to the danger room?" Xavier said calmly, a small smile forming as he regarded Logan.  
  
Logan had heard of this danger room, but had never -in all his time at the school- used it. From what he had heard, the danger room was amazing for training, and for just relieving stress. It sounded like a good idea to Logan, although he would probably just be hitting a big beanbag with 'Sabretooth' written on it.  
  
He had no idea just how wrong he was.  
  
* * *  
  
"Wow," Logan exclaimed as the three of them entered a huge, white- walled room. There was an observation area, raised up high in the wall, with reinforced panelling to watch through. The floor of the training area was slightly padded, but not enough to take away the feeling of reality. "This is... big."  
  
Xavier chuckled. "I'm surprised you have never used this room before, it's very practical." He wheeled himself around and made his way up to the observation area, followed closely by Storm. Logan moved to accompany them.  
  
"No Logan, you stay here," Xavier said as they moved into the little elevator. A few moments later, they appeared in the room above.  
  
"It's impressive," Logan called up to them, watching Storm type on a keyboard, "but how can I fight Sabretooth in here... there's nothing to hit."  
  
"That's what you think," Xavier replied, nodding to Storm.  
  
A huge bestial roar made Logan whirl, coming face-to-face with a shimmering image of Sabretooth.  
  
"Wow," Logan mumbled, then looked up at Xavier. "He's holographic?"  
  
"But very life-like," the Professor stated.  
  
Suddenly one of Sabretooth's monstrous paw-like hands swung at him, knocking him back and into the wall. Logan was temporarily stunned, and shocked. But as he rose, he laughed quietly. "Fine."  
  
He charged the image, ploughing it square in the stomach, knocking it flying backwards, hitting the wall with a loud crack. Logan was surprised at just how real the hologram felt, like genuine flesh and bone, exactly like he had hit Sabretooth. It made him feel great. No wonder everyone said this room was fantastic, it truly was a marvellous invention. Chuck obviously spared no expense for his beloved team.  
  
And that includes me now, Logan thought to himself. He almost didn't notice the image rise from the padded ground and lunge for him. Logan dropped on his back, grabbing the shimmering animal hides and bringing his boots into Sabretooth's gut, sending him careening over Logan.  
  
Logan rose, feeling a great sense of triumph wash over him. He removed his black jacket, to be left wearing a white vest shirt, making combat easier and more comfortable. He tossed the jacket aside.  
  
Whilst he awaited Sabretooth's recovery, he called out to Xavier, "Just how life-like are these things?"  
  
"They are an exact replica of the real person," Xavier replied, voice calm, as always.  
  
Logan shook his head. "No," he shouted, "I mean, can you kill them?"  
  
He saw Xavier look at Storm in amazement, and then face him again. "Yes, you can."  
  
"Good," Logan muttered, releasing his vicious claws. The sound of ringing metal filled the cushioned room, echoing around the ceiling.  
  
Sabretooth rose, growling furiously, leaping to attack again. The life-size image shimmered wildly for a moment, then returned to normal.  
  
"Come and get it, kitty," Logan growled back, waiting for the precise moment to strike out with his blades.  
  
Sabretooth seemed to hover for a split second, and Logan took it as his cue to assault the beast. He raised the slivers of razor-sharp adamantium up and into the air just as Sabretooth came down at him. Logan felt the weapons slice through the image and heard it wail in agony. He loved it. He rolled over onto his back and over again so he was on top of Sabretooth.  
  
He twisted the blades inside Sabretooth's abdomen, creating vicious holes in its body. Sabretooth howled again, in greater pain this time.  
  
Logan brought the claws out, allowing the image of Sabretooth to slump back, twitching. Logan looked up at Xavier and Storm, who looked extremely astonished.  
  
"Is he dead?" He asked them, panting slightly, sweating too. But, he truly felt alive. He always did when he was in battle.  
  
"Not quite," Storm answered, looking down at a display, then focusing on Logan. He grinned.  
  
Kneeling and turning Sabretooth over, he placed his claws at the base of the monster's skull. The image moved slightly, and Logan drove the metal into its neck, killing it.  
  
Withdrawing the adamantium weapons, he rose again, glancing up at Storm, who looked a bit pale. Logan knew Storm didn't like to kill anybody, not even mutants... but this was war. She had done it before... well tried, and she could do it again.  
  
"Another one," Logan demanded, much to his audience's surprise.  
  
The image of the dead Sabretooth vanished, and one of Mystique appeared.  
  
"Ah, we meet again," Logan greeted her mockingly. She cocked her blue head, which seemed to dance eerily. Logan shuddered, and then sized her up. He'd beaten her before, and he could definitely do it again.  
  
She pounced on him, driving him down hard and into the padded floor. She dealt him a harsh blow to the ribs with a knee. Logan laughed as he brought up a clenched fist. The metal claws slid out, and into her belly. The feeling was glorious, even better than when he had done it for real.  
  
He brought up his other fist and popped the claws, slicing through her like a hot knife through butter. Mystique's scream was music to his ears. He growled triumphantly, and threw her back and against the wall. She hit the padding with a thud. She tried to rise again, but Logan was having none of it. He walked over to her, delivering a shattering kick to her larynx. The loud snap was satisfying, as the image shimmered, then faded.  
  
"More?" Storm wondered, quietly.  
  
He nodded vigorously. "Hell yes!"  
  
There was another shimmer, and Toad appeared.  
  
* * *  
  
Serena had sat and watched Warp and Toad train, fighting against each other. There wasn't a lot of fighting happening. Warp was standing against a wall, with that dead look in his eyes she found so fascinating. Toad was jumping around in front of him, dodging the columns, spears and grasping hands of floor, walls and ceiling Warp sent to stop him. Occasionally Toad would be struck, and would be sent rolling. He would jump up, hiss and rush Warp. Serena could tell Warp was getting tired, not that you could tell by his demeanour, but she could tell, she knew him, knew his stamina. He was tiring. Suddenly Toad had dealt Warp a stunning kick to the stomach, making him crumple on the floor. Toad's cry of victory was perhaps more vehement than it should have been. Warp had kissed her and gone for a rest. Toad did not look happy about that at all.  
  
Not a lot was happening now, and there was nothing to do around the lair. Not since Magneto had ordered that they leave the captive alone for a short time, to recover. So she -Mystique too- was without anything to do. Stuck in this poor excuse of a base.  
  
She needed to get out of here. Fast.  
  
As if she had summoned, a huge golden eagle flew down beside her, and flapped its powerful wings. The eagle flickered momentarily, and then changed into the form of Mystique. She turned her blue head to Serena and smiled. "You want to get out of here?"  
  
"Yeah. But we've got to stay in the lair, haven't we?" Serena replied innocently.  
  
Mystique laughed quietly, so no one else could hear, especially not Toad, and told her, "Not if we're looking for something to help us."  
  
Serena returned the smile, now thinking on the same track as Mystique.  
  
"Come on. We'll take the helicopter," Mystique said, rising.  
  
Serena followed obediently.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sat alone on a bench near to the trees around the perimeter of the school grounds. He could see the school off in the distance, and knew Rogue was there somewhere, probably looking for him. But he just wanted to be alone, and think.  
  
Everything seemed to be going wrong recently.  
  
Everything.  
  
Even him. He used to be so positive... have everything figured out. But now, he was negative most of the time, and he didn't know what was going on, or even what he was doing anymore. Everything was screwed up.  
  
He just wanted everything back how it was. Where everyone was happy.  
  
A twig snapping behind him made him turn his head. What stood before him confused him; two women. Both dressed in black. One with long, flowing blond hair, the other with auburn, shoulder length hair, both about the same height. They both smiled at him.  
  
He didn't recognise either, and decided that he shouldn't worry about it, but should stay alert.  
  
"Hello," the blond woman said sweetly.  
  
Bobby watched them walk around him, stopping in front of the bench. "Hi," he muttered, smiling weakly.  
  
The auburn haired woman spoke, "We're friends of the X-Men. This is Serena."  
  
"I'm Bobby. Did you want me to go and get-"  
  
"Oh, no. If you could just give them a message for us?" Serena asked. Her smile seemed to fade a little.  
  
Bobby nodded. "Sure."  
  
What happened next was unexpected and a little frightening.  
  
Serena's arm extended and held him where he sat, and the auburn woman changed completely, into a tall, blue, orange-haired monster. Bobby tried to get free, but her grip was too tight. The blue woman moved closer to him and told him in a menacing voice, "Just tell them that they had better be ready, because we don't intend to lose. We have a couple of surprises for your Professor... and tell Wolverine I'm ready for him this time." She moved away from him, and Serena released her grip. They turned and moved back into the woods quickly, leaving Bobby sitting on the bench, shaken.  
  
As soon as he was sure that they were gone, he stood, and ran toward the school as fast as his legs would carry him.  
  
* * *  
  
Charles and Logan moved down one of the corridors in the school, talking.  
  
Logan still carried his jacket, a little worn out after his training in the danger room.  
  
"So," Charles began, "what did you think of the danger room?" He looked up at Logan, who glanced down at him.  
  
"Well... it sure was something new," he replied quietly, donning his jacket.  
  
"I thought as much," Charles said, confidently.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You enjoyed it," Charles explained.  
  
Logan realised what he was talking about; "You read my mind."  
  
Before Charles could reply, a door crashed open at the end of the corridor, and Bobby stood there, panting.  
  
"What the hell?" Logan exclaimed.  
  
As they moved toward Bobby, the young boy's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, shaking.  
  
Logan ran to him, and Charles sensed the fright flowing through Bobby. Something had happened to him, something terrifying.  
  
"What happened?" Logan asked, concerned. Bobby just sat there and shook violently. He couldn't speak, through breathing too heavily.  
  
Jean, we need your help.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean turned to Logan after examining Bobby, who sat on the medical bed silently, still stunned by whatever had happened to him.  
  
"He's okay, just badly shaken," she explained.  
  
Logan moved up to Bobby and knelt down in front of him. "What happened?"  
  
Bobby looked at him and replied quietly, voice a little shaky, "I was just sitting there, and these two women came up to me. They said... they said they had a message to give to you."  
  
Logan looked up at Jean grimly, and then turned back to Bobby, who continued, "One was called Serena, and the other one didn't say her name."  
  
"What did they look like?" Jean wondered, moving closer.  
  
Bobby sighed and continued, "One had blonde hair and was quite tall, the other was the same height with ginger hair, but then she changed."  
  
Logan stood and whirled. "Mystique," he said to Jean, who frowned.  
  
"She said you had better be ready for them." Bobby looked between the two of them and persisted, "She said she had a couple of surprises for Professor Xavier, and..." He stopped and closed his eyes.  
  
"What?" Logan asked, facing Bobby once more.  
  
Jean felt sorry for Bobby. He was only a boy and this had happened to him. It was good that Mystique had chosen one of the older children; she dreaded to think what would have happened had Mystique picked on one of the innocent and vulnerable people on the grounds.  
  
"She said that she would be ready for you this time," he finished, looking at Logan in particular. Logan turned to Jean again. His eyes were full of expression; anger, hatred and fear.  
  
Logan was afraid. But not for himself.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Sorry about the tediousness of this chapter. It was just to establish the danger room that we all know and love. Thanks for reading, and the rest will be on the way shortly. Thanks again for your patience :) 


	7. Chapter 7

Storm gazed down into the danger room at Logan stretching and warming up. She pressed one long finger to the intercom switch, and announced into the room:  
  
"Are you ready for a challenge, then?" From the observation deck she saw Logan nod his head vigorously in the danger room. Then he screwed his forehead up in consertation. She heard his voice through the little speaker in the control panel.  
  
"What do you mean? I've already beaten everything you've got!" came the tinny little shout through the speaker.  
  
"Yes, on level one. It goes up to level eight."  
  
Logan gave another grin.  
  
"Be serious, Logan, this is training. When we run into Magneto's goonies again we have to be ready."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Logan grumbled through the little speaker, and sighed. "Well, give me a challenge then."  
  
"How much of a challenge do you want?" Storm asked, smiling, teasing Logan. She heard his laugh through the speaker, and knew he still wasn't expecting the difficulty of the higher levels.  
  
He would learn.  
  
"Give me the best you've got," came Logan's reply.  
  
With a small shrug, Storm tapped the keyboard, and turned the simulation up to the highest and toughest level.  
  
A feminine laugh filled the padded room.  
  
Storm pitied Logan.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan whirled swiftly at hearing the evil laughter. He came face-to- face with an image of Mystique. It flew at him almost instantly, knocking him backward and winding him badly.  
  
He grunted loudly as he hit the floor. Logan coughed, and thought, Why do I do this to myself? He attempted to rise, but Mystique delivered a painful kick to his stomach. He had had no idea that it would feel this real! Just like she had really hit him.  
  
Logan allowed his claws to explode from his knuckles, and he swiped at her legs. One claw made brief contact with her blue, scaly skin, cutting it. To his surprise, a small stream of blood flowed from her wound.  
  
As she stumbled back, Logan rose and looked up at Storm in shock. The last images hadn't bled, why should these ones?  
  
Storm smiled, easing Logan. It was obvious that she had adjusted it to make it even more life-like.  
  
Mystique flew for him again.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat outside the main doors to the mansion, waiting for Bobby to meet her for lunch. She had a bottle of water ready, but she wasn't hungry so she hadn't gotten any food.  
  
"Hi," an unfamiliar voice called to her. At first, she thought the voice was not addressing her, but then a shadow came over her. She looked up to see a girl with black hair that was a little curly, who was smiling down at her.  
  
"Are you Rogue?"  
  
Rogue nodded, and replied quietly, wondering why this stranger was talking to her, "Yeah. How did you know?" She had to admit, she was curious to find out as much as she could about this girl.  
  
"You're the one who came into the Professor's office. Plus you're the only one around here who wears a body stocking." She sat next to her, and turned her head. "I'm Jubilee."  
  
"Hi," Rogue said, facing her. This girl seemed quite nice, and Rogue had learned to accept friendship wherever she found it.  
  
"So," Jubilee began, and cleared her throat, "what's your link with this Cyclops guy?"  
  
Rogue fiddled nervously with the top on the water bottle. "He saved my life once."  
  
"Really? How?"  
  
"Logan crashed his camper, and I got stuck in the seat. This other mutant attacked him, and the camper caught alight. Logan got knocked out, and then Cyclops and Storm showed up. He broke the seat so I could get out." Rogue exhaled heavily. "If he hadn't done that, I'd probably be dead." She looked Jubilee in the eye.  
  
Jubilee simply nodded.  
  
Rogue knew she didn't understand.  
  
Suddenly, something caught her eye over by the trees.  
  
That's not possible!  
  
* * *  
  
Serena laughed, hidden in the trees, and said, "You are so cruel!"  
  
"I know. But it's fun." Mystique looked to her, her face, body and voice changed completely into that of Scott Summers, dressed in leather jacket, maroon shirt and black combat trousers. The shift had been amazing, and the turnout was even more amazing. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn it was really Scott Summers standing there. Mystique had even created rose-tinted sunglasses.  
  
The thing that surprised Serena most was the fact that she suddenly found the man attractive. He obviously looked a lot better when he hadn't been tortured. But then, anyone would. She decided she wouldn't tell anyone about it, especially not Warp. His jealousy was surprising.  
  
Mystique leant against the bench in front of her, watching the young girl stare at her. She smiled.  
  
Serena had to admit that she did feel a little sorry for the girl, but there was nothing better to do, so it was surprisingly entertaining.  
  
"When do you think they'll find out that we messed with their programme?" Serena asked the professional Mystique, who was still disguised as Cyclops.  
  
She half-turned to her, smile still present, and replied, "What, the training programme? Oh, it won't take them long to find out what we did. But, someone will probably get hurt before they figure it out."  
  
Serena had to admit... Mystique was good at this. She could sneak in and out of a guarded facility without being detected, and sabotage the most complex of programmes. Apparently, she had done it the year before. She had pretended to be the boy named Bobby to persuade the girl Rogue -the one they were taunting now- to leave, and then had accessed a machine named Cerebro and sabotaged that too.  
  
In the distance, the girl stood.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue couldn't believe what she was seeing... or more to the point, who she was seeing. Could it really be Cyclops standing there in the trees? Could he have escaped from Magneto's clutches somehow?  
  
But, if that was true, then why was he standing so far away, as if frightened to approach?  
  
None of it made sense. But still, it undoubtedly looked like Cyclops, so what doubts could she possibly have?  
  
Too many questions, and not enough answers! she thought angrily.  
  
There was only one plausible solution. She had to go over there and see if her eyes were betraying her or not.  
  
She stood.  
  
Jubilee copied her actions, and followed her continuous gaze. "Who's that?"  
  
"I'm not sure," she replied, quietly, voice a little unsteady. "Stay here." She began moving toward the familiar figure.  
  
"Do you want me to come with you?" Jubilee inquired.  
  
Without turning, Rogue answered her, "Would I tell you to stay there if I wanted you to come with me?"  
  
She hadn't meant to be so rude... she just hated it when people didn't understand what she was telling them. It was quite clear. She had probably just put this new friendship on the line all because of her own damned curiosity. But she needed to know, desperately.  
  
* * *  
  
Mystique, now finally feeling comfortable in her new form, watched the cursed girl edge slowly closer. And the girl was most definitely cursed, unable to touch someone for fear of killing them. But this was war, and in most situations, death was necessary to aid the cause. Mystique liked to kill. It relieved a little bit of her inner torment each time she broke someone's neck, or beat them to death. It just felt so good sometimes.  
  
Maybe, just maybe, she would kill this brat now.  
  
* * *  
  
As she neared the distant tree line, the figure became clearer, and she could see the sunlight reflecting off the rose-tinted sunglasses.  
  
This can't be right, she told herself, this just can't be happening!  
  
But it was. Cyclops was standing about ten feet in front of her, smiling at her! Her mind chattered wildly about what could be going on here, but none of it made sense.  
  
"Scott?" she mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. He stood to his full height, and neared her, looking briefly to his right.  
  
"Rogue," came his simple reply.  
  
"But we thought you'd been-"  
  
"I got away. Sabretooth is a little sloppy these days, stupid son-of- a-bitch," he laughed.  
  
Now that definitely wasn't right! she shouted inside. Scott had cursed right in front of her... a student! Something was amiss, that much had been determined in her mind.  
  
"But where have you been all this time? We were worried." Might as well keep up this complicated charade as long as it took to collect some answers.  
  
"I've been hiding out. You know, keeping out of sight for a while."  
  
"For nearly four days?" She had raised her voice, and instantly gave herself a mental slap. This wasn't Scott at all; the language he was using, and his attitude were different.  
  
Could Magneto have brainwashed him somehow?  
  
"I couldn't contact you, he might have been listening in. They're watching all the time you know." He gave another glance over his shoulder to the place where he had first looked.  
  
Rogue gave that spot a close look... there was someone there!  
  
She gave Scott a disgusted glare.  
  
"Rogue, what's wrong?" he asked, genuinely sounding concerned.  
  
Without any sort of reply, she turned and began to move away.  
  
"Rogue?" he called.  
  
She didn't stop walking.  
  
"Rogue!"  
  
A hand clasped around her shoulder, and spun her round. It was Scott -or whoever was pretending to be Scott- and he looked angry.  
  
Making sure to be as careful as possible, she removed the long glove on her left hand, and dropped it to the ground.  
  
"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you, you little brat!"  
  
She was angry, and certain that this wasn't Scott... so she brought up her hand and slapped him around the face. Feelings and power flowed into her for a split instant during the contact. But the power was not that of laser-sight... but that of transformation!  
  
Oh my god!  
  
He turned back to her, sunglasses now gone, and laughed quietly. His eyes were a shocking blue.  
  
Then someone emerged from the trees, a tall blonde-haired woman, whose limbs seemed a little longer than they should be. She too laughed to herself.  
  
"Get away from me!" she shouted at them. Scott moved closer to her, grabbing her around the arms, pressing them to her side firmly. She was unable to raise her hand to defend herself. All she could do was scream.  
  
And she screamed.  
  
"Go ahead, scream all you want," he told her, evil filling his voice. "You'll remind me of Cyclops." He laughed and his blue eyes changed to a frightening shade of yellow.  
  
Mystique!  
  
She screamed again.  
  
Bright lights flared around them.  
  
* * *  
  
Serena only noticed the other girl when she was too close to be stopped. Bright lights flared all around them, and one stream of energy nearly struck her.  
  
"Mystique!" she cried. "Let's go!"  
  
But then Mystique was hit in the right arm by energy. She gave a cry, still in the masculine voice of Scott Summers, and then turned to Serena.  
  
They fled.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue began to sob uncontrollably, as she dropped to her knees on the grass.  
  
Jubilee came to her side instantly, rubbing her covered back. "Ssh, it's okay."  
  
Hands trembling like a building in an earthquake, she replaced her dropped glove, and replied, "No, it's not." Jubilee had no idea just how wrong she was. Everything was far from okay. Mystique had intended to kill her, and if Jubilee hadn't come, she just may have succeeded. It was a terrifying thought, but it was true.  
  
"We have to find Logan."  
  
* * *  
  
The blows just kept on coming, as Logan was pinned to the floor by Sabretooth. The roar he gave was almost deafening, and it hurt his aching skull. The hologram gave another blow to his stomach, this time claws and all.  
  
It was then -and only then- that Logan realised something was terribly wrong. He felt the knife-like talons slip into him, and blood begin to flow.  
  
He gave a cry.  
  
"Logan? Are you okay?" Storm asked through the speaker.  
  
As Sabretooth withdrew his claws, he cried out to her, "Shut it off! Shut it off!"  
  
After a few desperate moments, Storm announced, "I can't! The controls won't respond!"  
  
Sabretooth picked him up, and punched him again, claws stabbing him once more. More blood flowed from the wounds, and Logan grabbed at Sabretooth's arm, which was wrapped tightly around his throat. He gave a small choked cry.  
  
The beast threw him back and against the wall, knocking the remaining air out of him. He coughed, and deep-scarlet blood was released.  
  
"Logan!" he heard Storm cry in desperation.  
  
The image came up to him, and grasped him around the throat, lifting him high into the air.  
  
Unable to think of another way out, Logan slid out his menacing blades, and jammed them straight into Sabretooth's exposed jugular.  
  
The image flickered wildly, and then vanished, allowing Logan to drop to the floor.  
  
Logan couldn't find the strength to hold back the darkness, and it enveloped him.  
  
The last thing he heard was Storm's cry through another speaker.  
  
"Jean, we need you in the danger room. Now!"  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: So there you have it. Another chapter, another dilemma. Just so you know, Jubilee is based upon the actress who briefly portrayed her in the original movie, Katrina Florece. Gambit is based upon a taller version of Scott Caan, Bryan Singer's first choice for the role. Colossus can be imagined as a much older version of Daniel Cudmore. Serena is your typical tall leggy blonde, and Warp is based upon a bland Anson Mount. Thank you again for your attention, and I hope you will return. Thanks! 


	8. Chapter 8

Jubilee had no idea what was going on, but she knew she would soon have some small clue. They ran together, Rogue still sobbing quietly, into the massive mansion. There were a few students in the main entrance, but they just stared at them, confused. One of the boys was called Gregg, she knew that much alone. He had been the one to tell Bobby, Rogue's friend, about the missing man, who in turn told Rogue, causing her panic.  
  
She pushed her way past them, Rogue in tow, and they made their way for Professor Xavier's office. She pushed the large doors open, only to find the room was empty, a new sight to her.  
  
Damn, where are they? she thought in frustration, looking around as if she might find some hidden key to the others' whereabouts. Of course, there was none.  
  
Where are you?  
  
* * *  
  
Dmitri added another twenty kilos to either side of the extra strength bar, and lay down on the bench. Flexing his muscular chalk-covered fingers he wrapped them around the weight lifting bar, tensed and lifted. A hundred kilos was no challenge and he easily did five, ten, fifteen, twenty dips.  
  
And this was just in his normal skin. If he were to don his metal visage he was confident he could lift twenty or thirty times that much. He was confident, but not complacent like these western fools.  
  
They all thought he was stupid, just because he was Russian and had muscles. They thought that that was all he had between his ears. Muscle.  
  
Bearing this in mind, bent iron bars, rippling his steel muscles, he did tricks for them, like some dancing bear that they used to bring round in the travelling fair in his home town.  
  
As he stood under the showerhead in his guest room at the mansion, he wondered if he would ever see the mother country again. He couldn't go home, he knew, not after all that had happened, ending in their neighbour of thirty years driving his tractor into Dmitri. He had let the metal inside take over with anger, as it did now with the unbidden rage of the freshly recalled memories. The tractor had crumpled up around him, and exploded. He had strode from the wreckage, but their neighbour had lost a leg.  
  
The metal surged up around his feet and ankles, heading for the top of his hair. He felt the familiar sensation, even as he looked in the mirror, and saw it rising like a silver tide. The tiles on the bathroom floor creaked slightly under the added weight. Gathering his resolve, he forced the metal to sink down within him.  
  
Spreading his legs out on the bed, he idly wondered if when he woke up in the morning he would be in the same position as he had been in that hotel room, lying flat on the floor, the bed having given way underneath him when he subconsciously let go in sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
She had ruined his plans before. Her and her little friends. Didn't they understand? Didn't they understand the importance? They could not interfere this time... it was just too important, too vital to the survival of their kind. Mutant kind.  
  
But if they did interfere now, at this most crucial point, he may be forced to kill Scott, merely to emphasise that he was serious. He hoped Charles wasn't that stupid, that ignorant. Charles didn't even know what he planned for his team leader.  
  
It was nearly time. Scott had been 'taught' enough now, and he had instructed his associates to leave him, allow him to heal as best he could naturally. Erik's machine would repair most of the damage in the process of altering Scott's mind, but Erik supposed it would be best if the wounds had already begun to heal on their own.  
  
Erik could not wait to see the looks on Charles and his X-Men's faces when they saw Scott at his side, fighting alongside Sabretooth, Mystique and the others. It would be so satisfying, so glorious. He had no doubt that it would upset Jean Grey greatly, to see her lover fighting against her, with a murderous intent for them all, her included... but Charles would undoubtedly be crushed. Juggernaut's presence would amplify that effect. Erik knew that Charles had not seen his half-brother for quite some time, and probably didn't even know he was still alive. Charles had probably forgotten all about Juggernaut.  
  
Erik chuckled to himself. It was going to be wonderful.  
  
They were all going to die.  
  
* * *  
  
Scott sat uncomfortably on the cold floor, his head now aching in the bright light. It felt great to see things clearly, but now the clarity of the situation was beginning to give him a headache. He looked once more around the room, remembering that there had been nothing there before. So, why should this time be different? he thought to himself, allowing his head to look down at the floor again.  
  
Now aware of Magneto's intentions, he wished they would just kill him. But, Magneto would not do that now; he intended to use Scott against Wolverine and the others. And Scott had no choice, no other alternatives. Even if he were to escape somehow, he would be unable to run, his leg shattered.  
  
Wait a minute, Scott felt a sudden sense of realisation, my leg's broken. How is Magneto going to use me like this, I can't even stand.  
  
Now his head ached through confusion. It was a very good point, how did Magneto intend to use him if he was so badly beaten?  
  
The hissing of the doors opening on hydraulics caught his attention, and he looked up to the doorway. Mystique and Sabretooth stood before him, Mystique wearing that dreadful grin of hers, and Sabretooth merely growling.  
  
Now what?  
  
They moved over to him, their silence sending a shiver down Scott's spine, which also ached. Neither of the pair held any kind of torturous instrument, and Scott's brow furrowed.  
  
Mystique released his hands from the manacles, and nodded to her larger companion.  
  
Scott was too weak to even attempt any kind of escape. He just allowed himself to be picked up, and placed over Sabretooth's shoulder. He could see Mystique looking directly at him with some interest, so he asked, "Where are you taking me?" His voice was weak, and he had to struggle to form the words.  
  
She laughed as they moved towards the door. "We are taking you to your destiny, Scott." Her laughter was quiet, but seemed deafening.  
  
He felt Sabretooth's growl more than he heard it.  
  
"How can he hope to do anything with me like this? I can't even stand." The look Mystique gave him was one of pure evil, and frustrating clarity.  
  
"You'll see," she whispered to him, "you'll see."  
  
It was the most any of Magneto's mutants had spoken to him since his capture, and it frightened him.  
  
* * *  
  
Erik walked, his own happiness overwhelming him temporarily, and anticipated the moments that were to come. They would be most interesting, to his associates as well. Hopefully. Certainly, Mystique would feel hurt when he told her that he planned to make Scott head of his team for this mission. It was for the best though, for Scott knew all of the X-Men's weaknesses, and their strategies. Erik hoped she would understand it was a wise decision.  
  
He saw the door ahead, and realised he had quickened his pace a reasonable amount. He placed his hand into his pocket and removed the object that would control Scott's mind. It looked so small, so insignificant, but it was so unbelievably powerful as he had discovered, when testing the machine on some unwilling subjects.  
  
The door opened automatically for him, and he was greeted with a sight that he had been waiting to see for months.  
  
Scott was strapped to a metal chair in the centre of the room, the belt still in place, still functional. Sabretooth waited at the side of the room, Scott's visor in his hand, and Mystique worked at a table. Toad, Serena, Warp and Juggernaut stood to the edge, watching, waiting.  
  
Unsurprisingly, Scott looked terrified. He glanced up at Erik, and his eyes were filled with pain. Pain that would soon be removed.  
  
He clutched the object in his hand tightly, and decided to get down to business. "Sabretooth," he began, getting the large mutant's attention. "Put on his visor."  
  
Obediently, Sabretooth did so. He stepped away again.  
  
"Mystique." He needed to say no more, for she understood fully what his intentions were. She took an item in her blue hand, and moved to Scott's side. She fixed a metal chain; similar to that of a necklace, tightly around his neck, and pressed the locking mechanism -which was actually a neural interface- into the back of his neck. Scott winced.  
  
Smiling broadly to himself, Erik switched on the device he held in his hand. The light on it went green immediately. Scott's head jerked, and he seemed stunned. Then he gasped. For a few moments, he simply sat there, nothing obvious occurring. Scott suddenly gave a cry.  
  
Erik watched in awe as the wound on Scott's left shoulder began to heal, slowly at first, then almost disappearing altogether, leaving only a small, but noticeable, scratch where the gaping wound had been.  
  
"Wow," Serena exclaimed. "How did you do that?"  
  
Erik remained silent.  
  
It had worked.  
  
"Sabretooth, release him," he instructed. The large mutant did not move, but Toad spoke, "Are you sure about that, boss?"  
  
Erik merely glared. Toad backed down.  
  
"Now, Sabretooth," he demanded, louder this time.  
  
Reluctantly, Sabretooth walked over to Scott, and released him from the straps that held him.  
  
Erik waved his hand, seemingly in a pointless movement. He had just deactivated the belt from the inside, rendering it useless. Scott now had full access to his power.  
  
Scott stood from the chair, looking at the mutants that surrounded him, and moved directly over to Erik, limping a little on his right leg, stopping a foot from him.  
  
"Hello, Scott," Erik greeted him.  
  
"Magneto," came his reply. A discreet smile formed on his face, one that was visible to Erik only.  
  
It had worked.  
  
"Boss?" Toad moved towards them cautiously.  
  
"Scott, could you destroy that wall for me?" Erik asked, indicating the wall opposite them.  
  
With a subtle nod, Scott turned and faced the indicated wall. Erik noticed that all of his other mutants backed away. Were they afraid?  
  
Touching his visor with his hand, a red energy beam shot out of his eyes, blowing the wall outward and into the ocean. A strong breeze blew into the room.  
  
Scott turned back to Erik, his hair blowing in the wind, and he smiled. Erik returned the smile. He waved his hand again, reactivating the belt.  
  
"You may remove the visor," he told his new recruit, who had already showed he was willing to take orders.  
  
Scott reached up, and removed the visor from his face, holding it in his hand at his side. Erik noticed the evil in Scott's blue eyes.  
  
The evil, and the murderous intent.  
  
* * *  
  
Scott looked around himself, glancing at his new team. He took hold of the neck chain he wore, and clutched it tightly. Releasing it, he breathed in deeply, a glorious feeling sweeping over him.  
  
He had changed, he knew that much, but he didn't remember much else. He knew that he felt fantastic though. He felt something else... he felt hatred for the X-Men, and he realised how much joy he would take in destroying them one at a time.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean stared blankly at the x-rays in front of her, the light reflecting off her glasses, and she wondered. She wondered what had gone so terribly wrong with the danger room's holographic projector. Storm was checking the systems now, and Jean knew she would discover some kind of sabotage. It was the only plausible explanation. All of the systems in the mansion were well maintained, and checked on a regular basis. Nothing should have malfunctioned so drastically.  
  
But something had.  
  
What happened? she thought, subconsciously.  
  
She stared blankly at the x-rays, not really taking in the information that was displayed before her.  
  
Logan had healed quickly, as usual, but it was still troubling her. He still lay behind her on a medical bed, eyes closed firmly, still unconscious. She sighed, and removed her glasses, rubbing her tired eyes.  
  
She so desperately wanted to see Scott, know that he was okay. Well, she knew he wasn't okay, but she needed to know whether or not he was still alive. It was driving her mad.  
  
She wished she could talk to him, know what he was feeling, know his fear and help him through it. But the last time she had used Cerebro, she had damaged herself, and she would undoubtedly do it again, so that wasn't an option.  
  
She just needed to see him, and it was tearing her apart inside to know that she couldn't.  
  
In a sudden burst of frustration, she slammed her hand against the x- rays, knocking three to the floor, and causing the backlight to blink out. In the background she heard a vial of some kind shatter, and she knew she had subconsciously sent it flying across the room in her anger.  
  
That happened sometimes, when she was under a lot of stress. Objects would shoot across the room, and then break. Usually, they were not important, but one time she had accidentally sent a vase across the room, and Professor Xavier had been a little upset.  
  
"Lose our concentration did we?" came Logan's gruff voice from the bed. She turned to see him rise, rubbing his head in the process. He felt his stomach, perhaps checking that the wounds had disappeared. Satisfied, he glanced back up at her, and his brown eyes were full of compassion.  
  
Her head sagged in an expression of extreme fatigue.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Thanks for checking back. See that little option down in the left hand corner? *wink* Let me know what you think. Thanks. 


	9. Chapter 9

She sat in the great cavernous carved-out room that was the heart of Magneto's lair. She fiddled with her fingerprints, practising, lacking anything else to do. They no longer had 'entertainment', the goody-goody mutant having been converted.  
  
Mystique was unsure about this whole idea of Magneto's. Cyclops seemed a little cocky now, his evil side fully in control, which was good, no mistake, but... she just had a bad feeling.  
  
Then a masculine, but young, voice echoed around the hollowed out structure, and she stood and whirled, the unexpected interruption startling her; "Just sitting around doing nothing are we?" The voice had been familiar, and as she looked the figure up and down, she realised why.  
  
Standing before her, most of his weight seemingly supported on one leg, was Cyclops. He had showered, and changed. He still wore a pair of camo pants, which had obviously been taken from somewhere, maybe borrowed from Warp. He had donned his maroon shirt and leather jacket from before, and combat boots protected his feet. Obviously, the belt that he wore under his clothes was active, as he wore no kind of visor.  
  
Mystique noticed he had changed his hair a little. It was no longer styled beyond the point of neat, but simply combed through roughly, as if he didn't really give a care. Now it seemed as though it had life. But still, it suited him and gave him a certain air. One of simply not caring. There was also a certain ambience surrounding him, one of hatred and evil. Which she liked.  
  
Maybe she liked it a little too much, she realised, as she found herself staring admiringly at him. She gave herself a quick mental slap, and came out of her unnecessary trance. It wasn't possible for Mystique to feel attracted to a man.  
  
Was it?  
  
No, she hadn't liked a man in years. Not in that way anyway. But still... she found herself drawn to him.  
  
He cocked his head at her, and gave her a certain enthralling smile. She moved towards him.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked, the mischief in his voice captivating her further. His blue eyes studied her, and finally settled on her own. That certain smile remained.  
  
She stopped mere inches before him, his scent filling her nose, and replied, "Nothing much."  
  
"Bored?"  
  
She grinned like a child. "Pretty much. Magneto told me to stay in the lair... ever since that little bitch messed me about."  
  
The smile faded a little, the slightest hint of it haunting his features. "What little bitch would that be?"  
  
He was just so full of questions.  
  
"Some silly little girl who shoots fireworks, and the girl with the curse."  
  
The smile returned, and he gave a laugh, running a hand through his soft hair. "Ah, Rogue." He glanced up at the ceiling. "What a whiny little brat. I'd love to just break her neck right now." Then he inhaled deeply, releasing the breath slowly and lowering his head to level with her own. "Wanna help me?"  
  
She remained silent for some reason, which remained unclarified to herself even.  
  
"Come on," he teased, touching her arm in the gentlest of fashions, "it'll be fun."  
  
She found the temptation impossible to resist as she found herself saying the word, "Yes," before she knew what she was doing.  
  
For what seemed like hours, which was but only a few seconds, they stared deeply into each other's eyes, lost in them.  
  
Then Cyclops drew nearer to her, and she could feel his breath on her neck. She raised her head to him, and he kissed her.  
  
They stood in silence, expressing the most unbelievable of feelings for each other.  
  
* * *  
  
Gambit walked slowly down one of the grand furnished corridors to come face-to-face with Jubilee, who for some reason, looked a little spooked. He took her aside, allowing a large crowd of students to pass them by.  
  
"What's wrong?" he wondered, feeling the brotherly concern towards Jubilee which he had been trying to destroy since they had met. They weren't even that close, but he still felt like a guardian to her, and like a teacher too.  
  
Jubilee looked up to him and gave her mumbled reply, "Something happened, Gambit. Rogue's really freaked."  
  
This teenage slang was beginning to get to him as well. Being in a school for the past few days hadn't helped any either.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
As they walked, Jubilee explained everything to him in the slightest detail.  
  
"This transformation mutant sounds pretty dangerous to me. Rogue's a very lucky girl," Gambit said, as they neared Xavier's office. Seeing that he was inside through the open door, they knocked and then entered.  
  
"How are you, Jubilee?" the Professor asked.  
  
"Better, thank you. I'm just curious..."  
  
"What troubles you?" Xavier queried as he wheeled up to them. He looked up at them in wonder.  
  
Jubilee spoke, her voice a little unsteady, "Was that one of the mutants who have your friend?"  
  
Nodding, Xavier continued in detail, "Yes, but Scott is much more to me than a friend. I look on him as a son really. He was one of my first students, maybe the most unwilling to except help, but as time passed, he began to trust me.  
  
"Gradually, he became my field leader, someone whom I could trust my life with. He's thirty-one, and yet he seems so much older. I don't know what I'd do if-" He stopped abruptly for some reason.  
  
There was a certain look of realisation crossing his face, and he said to them, "Could you find Colossus, I'd like to speak with all of you. Oh, and Jubilee... would you ask Rogue to join us please? Thank you." He wheeled out of the door and down the hall, towards the briefing room.  
  
Gambit shook his head, causing his bangs to shake also, and exited the office, turning sharply to the right and heading for their rooms.  
  
* * *  
  
Storm listened intently to Professor Xavier, as always. Undoubtedly, what he had to say was damned important, and she sure as hell wasn't going to miss it just for a silly distraction.  
  
"I now understand why Magneto took Cyclops and no one else," Xavier continued, his voice carrying down the great table.  
  
Naturally, Jean seemed troubled by the subject. Seated to her left, next to Xavier, Logan spoke up, "Gonna keep us in suspense, or what?"  
  
Taking the hint, the Professor persisted, "Magneto is attacking me on a personal level. Taking Scott in an attempt to show me that he means to continue with his war. He knows that I will make no attempt to thwart his efforts whilst he still has Scott in captivity."  
  
Jean closed her eyes and inhaled loudly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jean. I know this is trying for you too, but we have to keep calm," Xavier eased.  
  
But obviously, it did anything but ease her. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I refuse to remain calm whilst Scott is still with Magneto. If you had seen what I did, you would know that calm is not the answer. Action is."  
  
Before the Professor could interrupt, she carried on, "Scott was in so much pain, and I can assure you, they were not holding back on him. I want to get him out of there Professor... even if I have to get him out myself, I will."  
  
Ororo gazed wonderingly at Jean, and she understood her feelings toward the Professor at this point in time. Feeling a great sense of compassion for her friend, Ororo left the room after Jean, and followed her down the hall to her room to comfort her.  
  
* * *  
  
Warp looked without emotion at the new member of their team. Of course, this was not unusual. He supposed he should feel glad that they had a new, powerful member to their team, and worried that he might be a liability. That was beyond him now, though. The only emotions he could ever remember feeling were those he had towards Serena. At first it was, he guessed from what people had told him, lust, but it seemed different now. It was something more, more subtle.  
  
Perhaps it was love.  
  
Who knew? Not Warp, that's for sure.  
  
He watched Serena laugh at something that their new recruit said, and felt something new stirred inside him. Perhaps jealousy?  
  
Who knew?  
  
Not Warp.  
  
* * *  
  
Jubilee had searched the entire grounds, and she still hadn't found Rogue. She had asked Gregg where she was, but he had said he didn't know.  
  
Dumb boy, her mind chattered, but she ignored it.  
  
She pulled the large oak door open, and stormed inside. She was becoming frustrated that she was unable to find anyone. Even Gambit. It was annoying. Whenever she wanted to find anyone, she couldn't, but whenever she wanted to be alone, everyone just turned up.  
  
"Hi," someone said from behind her. She turned to face Bobby. He seemed down.  
  
"Hi," she replied, "have you seen Rogue?"  
  
He glanced down at his feet and sighed. Looking back up he answered, "No. I haven't been able to find her. It's like she's avoiding me or something."  
  
Jubilee nodded in affirmation. "I think it was the thing with... Mystique, that did it. She's become really detached and distant. She didn't talk during the whole meeting."  
  
Bobby shook his head and closed his eyes, rubbing them with his hand. For a moment, Jubilee thought he was crying.  
  
"Not again," he murmured. He looked back up at her, and his eyes were filled with sorrow.  
  
"What are you talking about?" she queried, cocking her head in confusion and curiousity.  
  
"When Rogue first came here, it was like she was reluctant to make any friends because she had hurt so many people. Gradually, she made some new friends, but if she starts avoiding them all again... she'll lose them. I don't want that."  
  
Jubilee finally noticed that Bobby had enormous feelings towards Rogue. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed it before, as it was so obvious.  
  
She wondered if Rogue felt the same way. But, that could be doubtful. Rogue may not have wanted to get close to anyone again, because she knew she could not have physical contact with anyone. It must have been so depressing.  
  
Obviously, you idiot! Duh!  
  
Jubilee shook her head to clear her mind. "If we look together, we might find her," she offered, to which Bobby agreed.  
  
Together, they moved down the corridor, checking in each room for a certain person.  
  
Rogue just needed some comfort.  
  
* * *  
  
"He just doesn't understand," Jean fumed, pacing like a caged tiger in a zoo. Storm watched her, and worried.  
  
"The Professor just doesn't know how it feels," she continued, gesturing wildly with her arms. "He can't possibly know how I feel!"  
  
Standing, Storm argued, "I think he can, Jean."  
  
Ceasing her pacing, Jean turned on her. "Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw was set grimly.  
  
Storm would not be intimidated. "Professor Xavier knows how you feel, because he feels exactly the same."  
  
But Jean wasn't convinced. "But he doesn't."  
  
"Yes," Storm insisted, "he does. He loves Scott."  
  
Jean slammed her palm down on the desk to her left. "But he doesn't love Scott!"  
  
Suddenly, an array of items rose from their locations, floating mysteriously in the air. Storm set her eyes firmly on Jean, who had begun to shake. "Jean, calm down. Please."  
  
Then Jean screamed, releasing her buried anger and emotion. "Don't tell me to calm down!"  
  
The objects shot in all directions around the room, shattering against wardrobes and walls, and even against Storm. She cried out, blood flowing from a deep cut on her arm.  
  
Jean continued to scream, seemingly out of control. Tears streamed down her face.  
  
More objects were removed from their resting places, and flew around the room. Storm covered her head and ducked behind the bed. She knew better than to stand around in the middle of Jean's emotional outburst. She could get seriously hurt. Storm wondered if Jean might even hurt herself, with all of the objects flying out of control.  
  
Several crashes occurred at once, and then the room fell silent, filled only with Jean's sobbing. Storm emerged from her hiding place and moved to her, embracing her in comfort. Even though Jean had subconsciously harmed her, Storm cared deeply for her, and wanted to comfort her as much as possible.  
  
She was going to help Jean through this.  
  
* * *  
  
Magneto watched his team from above, in a small area that none of them knew about. They walked about, conversing with one another, or simply training. Toad and Warp trained together, as they had been doing for the past few days; Sabretooth and Juggernaut trained to the side; and Serena, Mystique and Scott talked between themselves.  
  
Magneto had noted the way Mystique stood close to the new member, as if claiming him as her own. A new possession. This puzzled Magneto, for he knew how Mystique despised men of all kinds, and now she stayed extremely close to Scott.  
  
He watched the two women laugh at something that Scott had said, and he smiled. It was good that the newest member had been accepted so quickly, almost without any question.  
  
But Toad was wary, as always. He was convinced that it was all an act, and that Scott was playing them all for fools. Obviously, it was impossible... Magneto would know if the machine hadn't worked, or if it had malfunctioned.  
  
Sabretooth, naturally, kept to himself, not expressing his opinion in any shape, way or form. He swiped at Juggernaut, testing the other mutant's reflexes, which were off the chart, like they should have been.  
  
Toad was knocked aside by an extended section of wall that Warp had sent after him. Toad was having trouble getting close to Warp, and the frustration was beginning to show.  
  
Warp, his face absent of all expression, kept an eye on Serena. Every now and then, his grey eyes would narrow. He was seemingly jealous of the attention Scott was receiving from Serena, and Magneto wondered just how much he would tolerate.  
  
Juggernaut knocked Sabretooth down, much to his displeasure, and then helped him back up. The two were equally matched, both mammoths of men... or mutants as the case may be. It was hard to believe that Juggernaut was in any way related to Charles.  
  
Serena seemed content, sitting facing Scott and Mystique, talking happily. Every few minutes, she would brush her blonde hair over her shoulders, and shuffle about in her seat. Was it possible she was flirting?  
  
Mystique moved closer to Scott discreetly, smiling broadly. She was happier than Magneto had ever seen her, and he wondered why. It was strange that she had accepted the X-Man so quickly. She had attempted to kill him on so many occasions that Magneto had lost count. And yet, she seemed comfortable enough.  
  
Scott had adjusted perfectly to his new life. His new team had grown accustomed to him in a record time, and he was satisfied. Magneto has noticed he had grown a little too confident, a little cocky. He was acting superior to all of the other male members of the team, simply because he knew he was in charge of the mission to destroy his old friends. Magneto knew Sabretooth, Toad, Warp and Juggernaut would not take it for much longer, and he hoped Scott would realise before it was too late.  
  
Just before he walked away from the observation area, Magneto noticed something that made him freeze.  
  
Scott had placed his arm around Mystique's shoulders. The transformation mutant didn't even seem to notice, just looked up at Scott and smiled.  
  
Then he realised the obvious.  
  
Something had happened between the two, and now they looked to be in some kind of relationship. One that was beyond belief, beyond expectation.  
  
Magneto smiled and chuckled.  
  
This, he could use to his advantage.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Okay, for those of you who are wondering, I don't know, honestly, why I keep mentioning this Gregg boy :) I just came up with a blue-haired boy, named him Gregg and used him when I needed him. After this, of course, I realised there IS in fact a blue-haired boy in the original film, lmao! Anyway, I know it doesn't show up *cries*, but the "Love" in Jean's retaliation to Storm saying Prof X loves Scott, is emphasised :( I don't know why I'm telling you now, it just might clear things up a bit.  
  
Thanks for reading again, and... look down there... the button... does it call to you? ;) 


	10. Chapter 10

As students walked around him, he realised that he was sitting right in the way, right in the centre of the staircase. But none of the students had complained though, he had noticed. After a few more moments, he stood, moving out of their way. They smiled appreciatively and carried on their way.  
  
Logan sighed and made his way down a corridor, searching for no one in particular, just hoping to find someone he could speak with. He didn't even want to talk about anything in particular... he just wanted to talk. He had so many things pent up inside, he wasn't sure what he was thinking anymore.  
  
He felt anger towards Magneto and his goonies for taking Cyclops. Fear as to what was would happen. Confusion because of all the things that were happening at once... and love. Love for Jean Grey.  
  
He just couldn't help it. He hated himself for having these feelings towards her, especially whilst Scott was being held captive by Magneto.  
  
Logan and Scott weren't exactly the best of friends anyway, but if he were to make a move on Jean now, in this time of desperation, Scott would hate him so much, and so would Jean. It was Logan's fault that there was a tension between them in the first place. When he had first arrived at the school, he had rejected Scott's friendship, even teased him. But gradually he began to realise just how damned important Scott was. Just how much of a leader he was capable of being.  
  
But now, Logan was playing leader, and he wanted to prove his worth. He wanted to show them that he was capable of being a good leader too. Logan had no intention of showing off, not in the slightest. That was the last thing he wanted.  
  
Ahead of him he could see a figure he would recognise anywhere.  
  
"Rogue?" he called out, checking it was who he had thought it to be.  
  
As the figure failed to stop, he moved after them. They quickened their pace, as did he. Now he was certain of who it was.  
  
"Rogue!" he shouted, breaking into a jog to catch up with her.  
  
She ran.  
  
So did he.  
  
Why was she running?  
  
"Marie!" he cried. "Stop, please!"  
  
She ignored him, turning right sharply.  
  
He turned the corner after her, and stopped. She was gone.  
  
Then a scent crossed the hallway to him. He knew that smell, had grown to love it.  
  
He turned to his left to see Rogue hiding in an alcove, crouched down to the ground.  
  
He moved to her, and lowered himself to level with her. "What's wrong? Why did you run from me?" he asked softly, touching her covered arm gently.  
  
She shied away from his touch, and he grew concerned.  
  
"What's wrong, Rogue? Tell me. I wanna help you."  
  
Still, she remained silent, avoiding eye contact.  
  
"Don't push me away. Because I won't just forget about you. I said I'd take care of you, and I meant it. I won't give up on you."  
  
Suddenly, she broke down into a fit of sobs, and Logan carefully took her into his embrace, soothing her as best he could. Something was wrong with her, and he needed to know what.  
  
Sure, the incident with Mystique must have been disturbing and frightening, but she didn't need to be so distant towards everyone.  
  
"Rogue?" a voice said from the end of the corridor. Glancing up, Logan saw it was Bobby and Jubilee, and he knew that Rogue didn't need their company at the moment. It might have helped her, but Logan knew her better than anyone. They had shared so much.  
  
Bobby came up beside Logan, and knelt down, moving to ease Rogue, but Logan shook his head.  
  
"No, Bobby. Leave her."  
  
"What? Why?" Bobby inquired, looking offended. Jubilee watched intently.  
  
"Just leave her alone. She needs some time, okay?" Logan told the boy.  
  
But Bobby would not accept it; "No, that's not okay. I'm her friend, and I think she needs me."  
  
Rogue raised her head, tears streaming down her pretty face, and told Bobby, "I don't need you right now. I just want to be left alone. With Logan." When Bobby refused to move, Rogue insisted, "Bobby, please. Just leave, and I'll see you later."  
  
Reluctantly, having no other choice, Bobby stood, turned and walked away, Jubilee following close behind him.  
  
"Come on," Logan said, his voice softer than he thought possible, "let's go somewhere."  
  
* * *  
  
"Come on," she pleaded to him, clutching his hand tightly with excitement, "let's go somewhere." Her face resembled that of a child begging to see something in an amusement park.  
  
He smiled, releasing a small laugh. "Where could we possibly go?" he asked, curious, but reluctant. But no matter what, his mischief took control. He too wished to go somewhere.  
  
"I don't know." She shrugged, looking him in the eye. "Somewhere fun. I'm bored."  
  
"So am I," bellowed a huge voice.  
  
The two of them turned to see Juggernaut enter the area.  
  
"Do you mind?" he demanded, releasing her hand, much to her disapproval. He heard her pine like a small dog.  
  
Juggernaut grunted, and came close to him, intimidatingly close. But he would not back down.  
  
"What?" Juggernaut thundered, his great voice echoing around every corner of the room.  
  
"I said beat it. We don't want you here."  
  
His voice throaty, Juggernaut boomed, "Who the hell do you think you are?"  
  
"I think I'm the one who's in charge around here, that's who, you big dumb asshole." He let out a laugh; one that he knew would drive Juggernaut crazy.  
  
Fuming, Juggernaut swung for him. But he ducked under the blow, laughing again.  
  
Too angry to continue, Juggernaut left, leaving the room to the two of them.  
  
He turned back to her, and he smiled that certain smile, the one he knew she loved.  
  
"That's better," she purred, moving closer to him, and wrapping her blue arms around him.  
  
The small island that they stood on still contained the chair he had first been imprisoned on, but he couldn't have cared less. He knew he was stronger now, and that was all that mattered.  
  
As they began kissing, they lay across the arms of the chair. He held her tight, unwilling to let her go  
  
She ceased expressing her emotions for a moment to once more beg to him.  
"Can we please go somewhere, Scott?" her voice appealed to him, and he found himself unable to resist.  
  
"Sure, we can go somewhere. Any place in mind?"  
  
She laughed her little laugh, and replied, "You know where I want to go."  
  
Rising from the chair, they walked towards the helipad, Scott's new duster blowing behind him in the breeze. Magneto had given it to him, merely as a gift, a welcoming present he supposed. He liked it though, so it didn't matter.  
  
"What do you say we take the big guy with us, just in case?" he asked her, turning her to him.  
  
Frowning a little, she agreed, "Okay, just in case."  
  
She pulled him close, and once more expressed the impossible.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean rolled over in her bed once more, and realised that sleep was impossible. Her mind was too busy, and it tormented her, filling her subconscious with tortuous images. She tried her best to banish them all, but a few remained to haunt.  
  
She rose from the empty sheets, dressed and exited her room. It was too large and empty. It seemed cold in there as well for some reason. She dreaded to think why.  
  
She made her way towards the mansion's stables. Maybe some kind of animal would calm her inside... it was worth a try.  
  
She passed many students on the way, all who smiled and said hello. Jean supposed they were being polite to cheer her up, but most of them were polite children anyway.  
  
After a few moments, she found herself surrounded by large powerful horses in stalls made from the finest timber. Hay hung from the walls in nets, and large troughs filled with water were placed in each stall, providing the animals with drink.  
  
As she walked through the path area, a large horse stretched its soft muzzle out, and nudged her shoulder gently. It made a purring noise, and snorted.  
  
She turned to it, and stared into its calming brown eyes. The horse was a pleasing brown colour, almost like that of a Labrador dog she had seen once. Its ears had a slight black tinge to them, as did its legs. The mane and tail were black, and three of the strong legs were white.  
  
She stroked the soft white blaze down its face, and realised just what horse she was petting.  
  
One time when she and Scott had walked through here, Scott had paid quite a lot of attention to this particular gelding. He had said it was a beautiful creature, and the horse had loved the attention it had received. As it did now.  
  
She ran her fingers through its wispy forelock, and stroked the ears. She patted its neck, and placed her aching head against the muzzle of the horse.  
  
It was warm, and the horse froze, simply continuing to make that soothing purring noise.  
  
A male voice spoke to her, "He's lovely, isn't he?"  
  
She looked to the man in the wheelchair, who moved up to her, and petted the large animal on the face.  
  
"Yes," she agreed, nodding a little nod. "He's beautiful."  
  
Professor Xavier was quiet for a while, and then continued, "I believe I've had him for two years now. I purchased him at an auction for charity... magnificent creature. Scott had advised that I buy him. A wonderful choice, a thoroughbred. Ex-racehorse I believe. Didn't quite make the big races, not enough speed, apparently." Then he added, "One of my favourites. Scott's too."  
  
Jean released a sigh, once more placing her head against the horse's face. It snorted quietly.  
  
Then Professor Xavier spoke to her again, but not in speech.  
  
Jean, we will help Scott. We will find him.  
  
Jean understood that he made perfect sense, and that she had been overreacting before. She turned to him. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said, "I was just upset... and angry, I suppose."  
  
Nodding, he replied, "I know. I understand, it's perfectly natural."  
  
"I know we'll find him. Logan has assured me that he will," Jean agreed.  
  
When Logan made a promise, he kept to it.  
  
He had given her his word.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat with Logan on the steps to the mansion's main entrance, and breathed in deeply. She was calmer now, and felt safe with Logan. Some time ago, he had made a promise to her. He had said that he would protect her, and so far... he had kept to his word.  
  
Rogue always felt safe with Logan.  
  
"So," Logan began, breaking the soothing silence, "why did you run away from me back there?"  
  
She stared off into the distance, not quite sure of the answer herself. But she had to explain her actions somehow, and she struggled to find a plausible excuse.  
  
"I guess I was just scared. I wasn't sure if you were who I thought you were." The excuse had actually been genuine, and she only realised it when she spoke. She looked into Logan's brown eyes, and continued, "When Mystique came, I was certain she was Scott. Then she started acting all... mean, and I knew something was wrong."  
  
"So what did you do?" he asked, tilting his head as if in deep thought.  
  
She looked away again. "I took off my glove, and I slapped her. That was when I knew it was her. Her eyes went yellow, and she threatened to kill me.  
  
"Before her eyes went yellow, they were blue. Really blue. It shocked me for a minute... and then I remembered who it was."  
  
"Lucky 'Pinkie' was there," came Logan's reply.  
  
Rogue glanced up at her older friend, confused. "Who?"  
  
"Pinkie," Logan repeated. When Rogue merely blinked, he continued to clarify, "You know, Jubilee. Pinkie."  
  
For the first time in what seemed like months, Rogue laughed. When she cast a glance in Logan's direction, he wore a look that increased the humour of the situation. He was trying to look innocent, and failing miserably.  
  
After a while, he too broke into laughter.  
  
Nearly a minute was wasted in their laughter, but it felt good to just... laugh, and not cry for a change.  
  
Rogue smiled at Logan, tucking her white-streaked hair behind her ear to clear it from her face. Logan returned the friendly smile, placing his arm around her small shoulders.  
  
As Rogue looked around at all the other kids playing and laughing, she realised just how lucky she was. She couldn't see why she hadn't noticed it before; it was so plainly obvious that she was in good company, with a great little circle of friends.  
  
There was one friend in particular she had to apologise to though. 


	11. Chapter 11

Gambit twirled his adamantium staff in his hand as he walked down the hall, keeping an eye out for some unknowing students who might just seriously hurt themselves if they hadn't seen him. He had almost hit three kids on the way down here, and he decided it was probably a good idea to cease the unnecessary twirling.  
  
As he walked, his hand travelled up to his hair. He touched the black sweatband he wore, and he realised that there was no reason to wear it at this point.  
  
Stopping next to a mirror, he removed the band, and allowed his brown hair to fall from its unnatural position, but it basically remained in the same shape as when he had had the sweatband on.  
  
Staring at the figure that looked back at him from the mirror, he realised just who and what he was.  
  
Replacing the sweatband, he carried on his way, continuing to twirl the adamantium staff in his gloved hand.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan sped along the deserted road on the black motorcycle. He thought back to what the professor had told them. He had contacted his 'government contacts' and given them a description of Sabretooth and Magneto. Obviously there was no point in giving them a description of Mystique, and they had told him -off the record of course- that they had seen the big beast hanging around a supply depot of theirs while another man bought food several times. Logan had taken it upon himself to go and investigate. It was an ordinary army supply dump with a small shop, which sold to civilians. Situated not quite ten miles from Staten Island and less than a mile from the coast, it was perfect for Magneto's purposes.  
  
The badge pinned to the chest of the private on duty behind the counter identified him as Norbert. He stood up straight, and there was a strong aroma of boot polish around him. There wasn't a very oppressive atmosphere of military around the place, but one that was enough to make Wolverine tetchy as mostly forgotten memories of camo pants and training drifted below the surface of his mind.  
  
"So, Norbert, do you see them very often, these mutants?"  
  
"Well, it's a bit of a break of protocol to be telling you this, but as they're goddamn freaks, I'm wiling to bend the rules."  
  
Wolverine nodded once, inhaled slowly and breathed out, calming his blood.  
  
"I see 'em maybe every three weeks. They buy basic food stuff, pay and leave."  
  
"How do they get to and from here? By car?" Wolverine asked.  
  
"No, that's the strange thing. I followed them once, and they got into a little dinghy and motored off. They must live on the coast somewhere."  
  
"Well, thanks a lot, Norbert, you've been a lot of help." Logan turned to leave, but Norbert caught sight of the dog tag around his neck.  
  
"Hey, you military?"  
  
Unconsciously he looked down at his tag bearing only the name 'Wolverine' and some numbers.  
  
"No, my father left it to me," he lied quickly.  
  
"Okay," replied Norbert and bustled off, no longer interested.  
  
At least it hasn't been a loss riding sixty miles, thought Wolverine as he sped back to relay the news to the X-Men.  
  
* * *  
  
As he glanced through the tree line at the large luxurious mansion, he realised just how strange it felt to be there. They had entered the grounds easily, as he knew all of the entrances and exits as well as the kids that used them sometimes.  
  
A sound some few feet away made him start, but when he realised it was only some of the students taking a walk, he signalled to the others to lay low. They didn't want to call any attention to themselves unnecessarily at this point. Not after Mystique's last visit.  
  
The students passed at a slow pace, and Mystique had crawled up close to him. "That's the girl who messed me about, that one in the bright yellow anorak."  
  
He smiled at the young girl's ridiculous choice in fashion, and wondered if she knew how plainly stupid she appeared. Shaking his head to remind himself of why they had come in the first place, he turned quietly to face Juggernaut.  
  
"Now I know you're not the smallest person in existence, and you have the tendency to smash things, so I'm gonna make sure you understand now that we have to keep a low profile. We don't wanna get caught. Magneto wouldn't be very happy if he had to break us out would he?"  
  
With a subtle nod, and a hard glare, Juggernaut agreed.  
  
"Good. We're gonna go round the side of the boundaries, so we don't get noticed. If we get spotted, Mystique will give us some cover. Anything drastic happens... well, then you get to smash things, create a diversion. Okay?" He had boiled it down to its simplest form, so the big mutant couldn't have gotten too confused over the plan.  
  
Obviously, he hadn't, as he nodded once more, then added in a low deep voice, "Where's the runt? Where's Xavier?"  
  
Scott rolled his eyes, and closed them briefly. "How the hell am I supposed to know? He's the psychic one, not me."  
  
Juggernaut again looked displeased, but Scott just shrugged it off and glanced back towards the mansion. It felt strange, being here, and having to hide, but that didn't matter now. He was on the winning side of a dangerous war, and that pleased him.  
  
"Okay," he muttered with a nod, "let's go. That way." He pointed off to his right, and obediently, the other two moved in that direction immediately, without question.  
  
They moved as quietly as possible along the surrounding tree line, hoping they wouldn't get noticed. Not that a little bit of violence wouldn't have been fun, but Scott wore the belt, which remained activated unless Magneto ordered otherwise, so it was unwise to start a fight at this point in time.  
  
He heard Juggernaut grunt from the back of the line, and he wondered what possibly could have been wrong with him, so he stopped and turned to him. "Now what?"  
  
The larger, more powerful mutant cast a glance down at him, then towards the children that could be seen off in the distance, "Look at them," he grumbled, his voice no more than a throaty growl, "they're all so happy, and they don't even realise how much the world hates them. Stupid kids, they don't know anything about the world they live in. This is what the runt's been teaching them; basketball and games." He gave another disgusted sound, and then looked back down at Scott, his eyes thin and full of so much hatred.  
  
Scott shrugged, his own eyes travelling off to the crowds of students playing on the grounds, "Well, if they don't know about their own world... then they'll die." Looking back up at Juggernaut, he smiled, hoping that that last comment had pleased the man. Clearly, it had.  
  
They continued on towards the mansion, treading carefully on the soil and grass, and kept a watchful eye on the students that would come dangerously close to their position.  
  
Stupid kids, Scott thought, deep in his subconscious, they don't even realise we're here.  
  
But then he realised he had thought too soon, as a kid called out, "Hey, who's there?" at the top of their voice, clearly meaning the three of them.  
  
Wincing, Scott turned his head to Mystique. "Some cover, please?"  
  
As discreetly as was possible, she stood to her full height, transforming herself into a perfect replica of the blue-haired student named Gregg.  
  
"Hey!" the child called again, but this time he received a reply.  
  
"What?" Mystique called back, emerging from her hiding place, leaving Scott and Juggernaut behind in cover. "What do you want?"  
  
"What were you doing in there, Gregg?" The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old, thirteen at the most. He looked at Mystique through thick glasses, and in his hands he held a basketball, which he bounced on the ground at regular intervals. Scott recognised him as Billy, a young boy who was able to disappear and reappear at will.  
  
Mystique took on a convincing posture typical of a boy Gregg's age. She replied, "I was looking for someone. I thought they might have been hiding out in there."  
  
But the boy would not let the conversation drop, "Who were you looking for?" The young boy's brow furrowed slightly, and he cast a quick glance towards Scott and Juggernaut, still unaware of their presence.  
  
"I was looking for Bobby. He likes to go in there sometimes, just to think. I thought he might have been in there now, but he's not. You seen him?"  
  
Young Billy shook his little head. "Not since he went off with Jubilee to find Rogue. Look in the mansion, you might find him there." Then he lifted up the basketball. "Wanna play?"  
  
"Nah, I gotta go. Got things to do. See ya' later."  
  
Waiting until the young boy had walked away to continue his innocent fun, Mystique walked back over to the trees, changing back to her natural form as she entered the area.  
  
"Nice cover," Scott said as they moved on.  
  
Before long, they were at one of the long large walls of the mansion, looking up to the top of the grand building.  
  
"So," Mystique began, looking to Scott for her answers, "how are we gonna get inside?"  
  
Scott wondered if anyone would see them standing there, Juggernaut being too large to miss unless you were visually challenged, and Mystique's body being so eye-catching. Surely someone should have noticed them by now, but as of yet, they had remained undetected.  
  
Security's a bit slack, Scott thought as they walked alongside the wall, careful to keep low at the windows.  
  
Suddenly, Juggernaut exclaimed, "There he is!"  
  
Whirling, Scott scowled at him. He had most probably just blown their cover; all because he had spotted a certain person through the window they had just passed.  
  
Keeping his own voice low, Scott asked, "Who?"  
  
"Xavier," Juggernaut growled.  
  
Then he slammed both of his fists into the wall, smashing it inwards in a great mess of brick and plaster.  
  
That had definitely blown their cover.  
  
"Juggernaut!" Scott shouted as the huge mutant clambered into the building even as parts of the wall fell on top of him.  
  
Risking a glance inside, Scott saw Juggernaut moving towards Professor Xavier, who looked as startled as a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.  
  
Damn!  
  
Grabbing hold of Mystique's blue arm, he pulled her along and moved as far away from their previous position as possible. They had no other choice but to leave Juggernaut behind. He was perfectly able to break out if need be. He had broken in, hadn't he?  
  
But if he was unable to escape, Scott and Mystique were going to be in a lot of trouble.  
  
Magneto wasn't going to like this.  
  
* * *  
  
Magneto paced in front of Scott and Mystique, running through his mind what they had just told him... which didn't please him in the slightest. The news they had brought him of Juggernaut's obvious capture angered him, and he intended to let them know it.  
  
"I don't believe you went! Mystique, you should have known it was not wise after your last experience, but you insisted on going anyway! Why?" he boomed, shocking the blue mutant.  
  
She looked to him with her yellow eyes, and she made a sad little sound that she often used to play on his emotions. "I was bored. I wanted to do something fun, and-"  
  
"Enough. You should have been patient. Now we have one more problem to deal with on top of everything else," he groaned. "Leave."  
  
She opened her mouth to protest.  
  
"Leave!" he thundered, and she obeyed.  
  
He whirled on Scott, who stared back at him with blue eyes that were filled with so many new emotions and expressions that for a moment, Magneto forgot his anger. But then it resurfaced, and his grey eyes narrowed.  
  
"And you..." he mumbled, still ensuring that the young mutant could hear, "you encouraged her. I did not make you who you are now to defy me... you are supposed to be the leader of my team, but now all you've done is manage to get Juggernaut captured. He was an important part of the team, Scott, a strong member."  
  
"What about the rest of us, huh?" Scott retorted, moving forwards, not intimidated by Magneto's hard glare. "What's wrong? Don't you think we can manage without that big dumb asshole?" His eyes were filled with anger as his voice increased in volume. "Well, let me tell you something... we're more powerful than you know. Give us the opportunity and we'll prove it to you. But, keep us cooped up in here, and I don't think we'll last much longer without going crazy.  
  
"Warp is acting strange enough as it is, and I don't think he likes being here too much. Toad is bouncing all over the place, going completely nuts, over-eager. Serena is itchy for a fight, and even started on Sabretooth this morning. Luckily Mystique warned her away from it. And as for the big guy himself, well, let me tell ya' something... the tree that used to be in that big room down the corridor... it ain't there no more. All he left were a few matchsticks worth of wood.  
  
"Me and Mystique, well, we're about the only sane ones around here at the moment, but we know we're ready, and you won't give us a chance! We won't stand for it much longer, Magneto, you know that!"  
  
Magneto backhanded him, mainly to show him who was still in charge around the lair. Scott looked back at him, and although the anger was still present on his young features, it had withdrawn a little. He was fully aware of the fact that starting on Magneto would be stupid to say the least, for the belt was still active, and Magneto could take care of him quickly with his powers. There was enough iron in Scott's blood to lift him off the floor some few feet at least... enough to make him inadequate anyway.  
  
But he did not wish to fight either. He chose instead to attempt to calm the situation between the two of them.  
  
"Scott, it is not that I do not think you are ready... it is just that we have to be patient, and wait for Charles to send his people to us. We are more powerful here, in our own domain, where we know we will not be separated, or lost. The last time I sent a team up against his people," he smiled at that comment, as did Scott, "it all went terribly wrong. Here, we can use the terrain to our advantage."  
  
Scott nodded, allowing his eyes to travel around the room for a moment. "I know, but how long do we have to wait?"  
  
Magneto smiled. "All we need do now, is to send a message to Charles' precious X-Men, telling them of our location, and wait. We have to be patient."  
  
Scott smiled like an eager child. He was full of enthusiasm, and Magneto was pleased with this.  
  
He too was anxious for the fight. 


	12. Chapter 12

Gambit yawned, a little weary, and twirled his adamantium staff in boredom. He cast a glance across the white room to Wolverine who stood in front of the gigantic mutant who stood imprisoned behind adamantium bars. They had only been able to get his name out of him; Juggernaut.  
  
Gambit thought for a moment he recognised the name, but then dismissed it. He couldn't have possibly come across this mutant before; he would have remembered such an encounter. But still, there was the faint feeling deep in his subconscious, one of recognition.  
  
"Come on damn it," Gambit complained, "he ain't gonna tell us anything, Logan. Why don't we just go?" He ran a hand through his soft brown hair, and frowned.  
  
Logan turned to him, removing his black, red-striped jacket, and shook his head. "No way. We've gotta find out something about what he was doing here. I mean, he tried to rip the Professor to pieces for crying out loud."  
  
Gambit sighed. "Fine. But I'm telling ya' now, he won't tell us anything." Of course, he didn't know that for sure, but he just had a feeling. By simply looking at the mutant named Juggernaut, anyone could tell he wasn't one for leaking information.  
  
"Just tell us why you were gonna kill the Professor. What's the matter. not a fan?" Logan asked, cocking his head. He stood before Juggernaut, looking up into the dark eyes of the intruder.  
  
Luckily, Dmitri had been close by, and had heard Juggernaut make his destructive entrance. He had got there just in time to stop Juggernaut from basically ripping the Professor apart, for some unknown reason.  
  
Juggernaut simply glared at Logan, and grunted.  
  
"Told ya' so," Gambit mumbled with a grin on his face, one that Logan didn't see. Then he snapped his head up with a sudden thought. "Hey, Logan?"  
  
"Yeah, what?" Logan replied without turning away from the object of interrogation.  
  
"What about using the Professor? He's psychic, isn't he?"  
  
Then Logan did turn to him, and a smile appeared. He turned back to Juggernaut and laughed at him.  
  
Juggernaut didn't look in the least bit impressed, or enthused by the whole idea. In fact, Gambit was certain he heard the large mutant growl. He allowed his brow to furrow, and stood to go and fetch the Professor.  
  
He exited the room, and twirled the staff a couple of times, mainly just to test his skills with the weapon he had found so effective in times past. Sometimes, it was a little awkward to carry, but it was always helpful when he got into fights. He was able to charge it, and he had even struck someone in anger with it once whilst it had been charged. Apparently the man hadn't recovered for some time, and Gambit had needed to make a quick exit to avoid harm from the man's friends, who had been quite angered by the whole thing, having realised that he had been -and still was, obviously- a mutant. They had appeared after him one day with guns, and Gambit knew he couldn't have taken all twelve of them on by himself. He wouldn't have lasted very long.  
  
But then he had met Dmitri and Jubilee, and they had stuck together for quite some time now. At least three years, he realised, and a smile crossed his young face. He hadn't actually noticed before that it had been so long. Now he and Jubilee were like siblings, and he cared deeply for her. Dmitri kept an eye out for the both of them, like a guardian of some kind, also being a lot older than the two of them. Still, Gambit was in charge out of the three of them. Jubilee was only eighteen herself, and Gambit. well, he was almost thirty now. He had forgotten the exact date of his birthday quite some time ago when he realised nobody actually cared anymore, but he knew it wasn't all that far away. It didn't really mean all that much to him anyway. Just another year on his life, nothing more.  
  
He didn't understand why people made such a big fuss over it. It wasn't really anything special. not to him anyway. Dmitri was nearing fourty, or so Gambit had come to believe, told by the big guy himself. Maybe he was older, no one really knew.  
  
He cared for Jubilee like a younger sister, and he always treated her as one. Well, not always, as he knew she needed a break from him every now and then. But he had always looked out for her, like a big brother should do, and had gotten her out of a few messes in the past.  
  
He entered the elevator, and waited as it swiftly made its way up the shaft to the upper section of the mansion. The door slid open quietly, and he walked out and into the large hallway. The door closed behind him, giving the wall a normal appearance. He had supposed on arrival that not many of the kids knew of its existence, and so it had been designed so it would simply 'melt' into the wall after use.  
  
He walked down the hallway to Xavier's office, and listened to the sound of his combat boots as they struck the varnished surface of the flooring. A few kids passed him, and smiled. He smiled back briefly, and then pushed the door to the large office open.  
  
"Hello, Remy," Xavier greeted him upon entrance.  
  
Gambit paused, and smiled, a little forced. He wasn't keen on his real name, and much preferred his mutant pseudonym of Gambit.  
  
He nodded his own greeting, and decided to get straight down to business. "We were wonderin' if you could help us out down below."  
  
"Help you out? How exactly?" Xavier asked, taking a sip from a cup that Gambit thought must have contained tea.  
  
"Well, Juggernaut isn't talking, and we were just wondering if-" He hadn't even finished his sentence when the Professor cut in.  
  
"I'd rather not read his mind, Remy, thank you."  
  
Gambit's brow furrowed once again, and his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why not?"  
  
Xavier regarded him seriously for a moment, and then turned his wheelchair to glance out of the window. He replied in a quiet voice, "Never mind. I'd just rather not, sorry."  
  
Gambit was taken aback. The Professor was usually so keen to find answers, and this mutant might have had something to do with Cyclops' disappearance.  
  
"Fine," Gambit mumbled to himself in surprise, and turned, leaving the room without another word.  
  
He made his way back to Logan, to tell him of what had just happened.  
  
* * *  
  
"He said what?" Logan asked in disbelief. They stood outside the room where Juggernaut was imprisoned, and Gambit leaned against the far wall whilst Logan paced.  
  
"He said that he didn't wanna read the big guy's mind. He didn't say why either, not even when I asked him," Gambit replied, glancing up at Logan momentarily, then idly performed another trick with the deck of cards he held in his hands.  
  
A moment later Logan thundered through the doors to Xavier's office in a fit of rage, and prepared to give the Professor a piece of his mind. Seeing the look on the Prof's face, he hesitated. A rare thing if ever there was one.  
  
"Why won't you pry his skull open and have a look?"  
  
"Because, Logan, I honestly do not know if I am capable."  
  
"Why in the hell not?" The Professor turned away, a distant look in his eyes. When he turned back there were unshed tears in them. Now that Logan realised, Xavier had looked kind of pale and drawn when he had entered.  
  
The Professor sighed, and hung his head a little.  
  
Logan moved further into the room, and allowed his brow to furrow in confusion. He had never seen the Professor like this before, and it had him a little thrown if nothing else.  
  
Xavier looked him in the eye, and began to explain, "Well, if I'm going to tell anyone... it might as well be you, Logan."  
  
Considering Scott isn't here, I suppose he doesn't have any other choice! Logan thought, seating himself opposite the Professor and listening intently as the man told him his story.  
  
"Juggernaut... I've known him for many years now, and I can't remember ever liking one of them. You see... we have a connection of sorts, one which I have never told anyone of before." He appeared to be hesitating, so Logan encouraged him to go on.  
  
Xavier stared right at him, and he seemed to have to struggle to get the words out.  
  
"Juggernaut and I are half-brothers."  
  
Logan felt as though he had been slapped round the face, and he stood suddenly at the shock of the sentence as he took it in for what it truly meant.  
  
"Oh my god! Why didn't you tell us earlier you had a half-brother who was a mutant... especially one like that!" Logan hadn't meant to shout, he was just so stunned.  
  
Professor Xavier shrugged lightly. "I saw no need to tell you, but now I see he is working for Magneto, I knew someone had to know."  
  
Logan stopped dead in the centre of the room, and glared wonderingly at Xavier. "Working for Magneto? How do you know that?"  
  
"I am psychic you know... plus I saw Mystique outside the wall when he broke in." His eyes narrowed in thought. "I saw another as well, but I didn't recognise them. I only saw them for a split second, enough to tell they were male, but nothing more. They grabbed Mystique and left, rather quickly as well."  
  
"So," Logan said, his hands on his hips, "how are we gonna find out what we need to know from the big guy?"  
  
* * *  
  
Gambit entered the room again when he heard Juggernaut banging against the bars, and shouting loudly. Maybe he had gone mad. He moved into the white room, and tossed his staff over to the side of the room.  
  
"Hey!" he called to the large mutant, who seemingly paid no attention to him at all.  
  
He moved closer. "Hey, stop it!"  
  
Juggernaut continued.  
  
Gambit moved closer until he was nearly up against the bars, and shouted louder.  
  
"Hey! Stop it! You're gonna hurt yourself!"  
  
Suddenly, one of Juggernaut's huge arms thrust through the bars, and his gigantic hand clasped round Gambit's throat, pulling him forward and slamming him into the metal bars. Gambit gave a little cry.  
  
Juggernaut laughed, and tightened his grip just enough to let Gambit breathe in the slightest way. If he were to tighten his grip any more, he would probably break Gambit's neck.  
  
Gambit tried to cry out for help, but failed.  
  
Juggernaut laughed again. "If you let me out, I won't kill you."  
  
Gambit closed his eyes, and tried to pry Juggernaut's huge hand from around his neck.  
  
Juggernaut slammed him against the bars again, and repeated his demand. "Let me out of here, now!"  
  
Gambit desperately wished he had his staff in his hand, but knew it was on the opposite side of the room. His cards had been in his overcoat, which he had removed and left in his room... and now he was completely defenceless, at the mercy of Juggernaut. 


	13. Chapter 13

Logan couldn't believe what the Professor had just told him. He was waiting for Xavier to burst into laughter any minute and tell him it had all been a big joke.  
  
But he didn't.  
  
Suddenly, the Professor looked up at Logan and exclaimed, "Gambit!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Gambit, Juggernaut." He didn't say anything else, just shouted, "Go!"  
  
Logan ran from the room, almost crashing right into Storm, Rogue and Jubilee.  
  
"Slow down, Logan, you'll hurt someone," Storm advised with a smile.  
  
"If I do slow down, someone is definitely going to get hurt." His eyes were desperate.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rogue asked.  
  
"The Professor just said about Gambit, and Juggernaut. I don't think it's good news anyway, so, if you don't mind?" He gestured to get round them, but Jubilee had already started off into a sprint.  
  
Logan, Storm and Rogue ran after her, Logan overtaking her easily. They all crammed into the elevator, and waited impatiently for it to make its descent.  
  
Once it had stopped, and the doors had opened, they ran from it, and down the corridor. Jean joined them, and they all ran down to the room where Logan had left Juggernaut about ten minutes ago.  
  
Logan reached the room first, and slammed the door open. "Gambit!" he cried as he saw that he was in the grip of Juggernaut, being choked to death, much to the enjoyment of the larger mutant.  
  
Jubilee tried to push her way past Logan, but Storm held her back. She was deeply worried for her friend, and surrogate big brother, and wanted to help him. But Storm and Logan both knew she could do nothing for him. Juggernaut was too strong.  
  
Logan allowed his claws to explode from his knuckles, but as he went to move forward, Jean reached out and grabbed him.  
  
"You could hurt Gambit," she warned, and he turned to her.  
  
"What do you think is gonna happen if I don't do this? Huh?"  
  
Before either of them knew what was going on, Rogue had moved forward from the group, and up to the bars where Juggernaut held Gambit.  
  
"Rogue!" Logan cried, Jean keeping tight a hold of his arm.  
  
Rogue breathed in deeply, and reached up, wrapping her hand around the trunk-like arm of Juggernaut. She gave a little cry as her powers kicked in.  
  
Juggernaut grunted, and he wavered a little, but did not let go. Gambit struggled desperately to get out of his grip.  
  
Rogue took hold with her other hand also, and then she did scream.  
  
Juggernaut cried out also, and one of his legs failed him, then the other, and finally, he allowed his hand to release Gambit.  
  
Gambit fell to the floor hard, and began coughing violently.  
  
Rogue released Juggernaut, and collapsed panting against the wall behind her.  
  
Logan and the others rushed over. He and Storm rushed to Rogue, whilst Jubilee and Jean ran to Gambit, who continued to cough, and gasp for breath.  
  
"Are you all right?" Jubilee asked frantically, putting her hand on Gambit's shoulder.  
  
He was unable to reply, as he continued to cough.  
  
Logan asked Rogue how she was, and as soon as she said she was fine, and he believed her, he too moved over to Gambit, who still appeared to be having trouble breathing. Logan glanced over at Juggernaut, who had passed out in the cage.  
  
"Gambit? Are you all right?" Jean asked.  
  
Gambit breathed a little easier, but still coughed a little. Then he spat on the floor in front of him, making Storm back off a little. The others were not even bothered. Jubilee rubbed Gambit's back as he coughed a little more.  
  
"Are you okay?" Jubilee asked him, and he looked up at her with his blue eyes.  
  
He nodded, and took in deep gulps of air.  
  
"Can you stand?" Jean asked. "We need to get you to the infirmary."  
  
He looked to her, and nodded.  
  
"Logan, help him up please," Jean said, and Logan nodded and obeyed.  
  
Logan helped Gambit off of the floor, and aided him as they moved towards the infirmary.  
  
That had been too close.  
  
* * *  
  
Scott paced, like a tiger in the zoo, bored out of his mind. After his lecture from Magneto, he was angry too. Mystique sat behind him, watching his movements with a certain interest.  
  
"God dammit, why can't we just go now... we'll beat them. They've only got, what? Three people capable of combat, we'd kick their ass! But he won't let us." He was angry, and he intended to let everyone know about it.  
  
"He's just making sure we're ready," Mystique purred in her soothing voice.  
  
He glanced at her, and smiled. "Whatever, but I'm still angry at him, and bored stupid."  
  
"So, who have they got who we can fight?" Mystique asked as she stood.  
  
Scott sighed, and seated himself on a nearby rock, resting back on the stonewall behind him.  
  
"Well, you've got Logan for one." He smiled broadly, and closed his eyes momentarily. "I'm gonna enjoy killing him."  
  
She laughed. "Who else?"  
  
"Storm. God, she's annoying. So righteous! I should imagine Sabretooth and Toad are gonna fight between themselves to see who gets to kill her."  
  
They both laughed quietly.  
  
"And there's Jean." Scott's smile disappeared for a moment, and he held his head as if he was in pain.  
  
"What's wrong?" Mystique asked him, concerned.  
  
He looked up to her and shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just getting a headache I suppose." He smiled for emphasis, and she moved over to him, sitting next to him.  
  
Sitting there in silence, he leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
* * *  
  
Jubilee sat in the infirmary with Doctor Grey and Gambit, who was now sitting upright and taking a drink from a glass of water. There were clear bruises forming slightly around his neck.  
  
She had been incredibly worried for his life. In that moment when she had walked in the room, she had felt so many things. Worry, for Gambit, who treated her like a younger sister, and she in turn treated him as an older brother. She had felt fright, fright at seeing what that huge mutant was capable of. Last, but certainly not least, she had felt anger. She had wanted to run up to that mutant who called himself Juggernaut, and hit him with all she had.  
  
But Gambit was okay now, and she was happy because of it.  
  
Jean smiled. "You're fine, Gambit. It was lucky the Professor sensed what you were feeling."  
  
"Excuse me?" Gambit asked, placing the now-empty glass down on the table near him.  
  
"The Professor felt what you were feeling, and knew you were in trouble. He told Logan, who ran into Rogue, Storm and Jubilee. He informed me psychically. He's more powerful than you thought... isn't he?"  
  
Gambit smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. Where is Rogue?"  
  
Jubilee stood, and moved to his side. "She was going to go and talk with Bobby last time I heard. Maybe they're out front." She placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, and smiled at him. He smiled back.  
  
"Guess I'll go find her then. I need to thank her."  
  
Jean smiled. "I think she'd like that."  
  
He nodded, and stood, walking with Jubilee from the room.  
  
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked him, looking up to him. He was quite a bit taller than her, but that didn't bother her. She had gotten used to being the small one.  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, Jubilee, I'm fine." He removed his sweatband, and replaced it after running a hand through his hair.  
  
They made a quick stop by the containment room, where Juggernaut was still unconscious, to pick up Gambit's staff.  
  
Then they made their way up to the upper level to find Rogue.  
  
As they walked, Gambit twirled the staff carefully, almost striking Billy and Gregg when he wasn't looking.  
  
Jubilee laughed at him. Sure, he was skilled, but sometimes he was just plain careless. "You really should watch what you're doing with that thing. You could have someone's head off!"  
  
He glanced down at her, ceasing his twirling for a moment. "I've never hit anyone before... why would I start now?"  
  
"Never mind," she said, smiling. "Just be careful, okay? We don't want a couple of kids with a head injury, do we?"  
  
Gambit smiled playfully. "Well, then they should watch where they're going. If they get hit... then I take no responsibility, just because I own this particular adamantium staff, doesn't mean I hit them."  
  
Jubilee laughed again, and slapped him lightly on the arm.  
  
Gambit turned on her, that familiar expression on his face. "Oh, you want to play it that way, huh?"  
  
"No," she pleaded, and turned away from him in laughter, "don't do that again."  
  
Gambit grabbed her, dropping his staff to the floor with a clang, and began tickling her, something he often did to make her laugh when they were both a little down.  
  
She squirmed to get away from him, but found he was wherever she turned to escape him.  
  
A clearing of the throat snapped them both out of their fun. Gambit stood to his full height of six feet, and fought desperately to keep a straight face, whilst Jubilee giggled behind her hand.  
  
Logan stood before them, a certain grin on his own face, one that he concealed well behind bestial hair, and curious features. "Having fun?"  
  
Gambit retrieved his staff from the ground, and twirled it twice, settling one end on the varnished flooring before replying with a smile, "As a matter of fact... no. We never have fun... incapable of it actually. It's really quite tragic."  
  
Jubilee burst into laughter, whilst Gambit merely smiled to himself, shifting on his booted feet before Logan, who shook his head with a grin.  
  
"Very funny, Remy," Logan said.  
  
"I thought so, Wolverine." Gambit grinned, running a hand through soft brown hair.  
  
Jubilee watched the two men with interest, giggling at their expressions. Gambit, Dmitri and herself had been guests at the mansion for nearly a week now, and she felt truly at home amid the friendly atmosphere and relaxation mixed with interesting learning.  
  
"So," Gambit began, moving with Jubilee closer to Logan, "seen Rogue?"  
  
"What for?" Logan inquired, placing a hand in his jeans pocket.  
  
Gambit cocked his head. "Protective aren't we?" He smiled at Logan's annoyed expression. "I wanted to thank her for earlier."  
  
Logan nodded once, seemingly lost in a reverie of thought. "I saw her with Bobby outside on the far bench by the perimeter. They look like they're talking or something."  
  
Gambit smiled mischievously, and patted Logan on the arm. "Thanks, Wolverine."  
  
Logan stepped in front of him as he went to pass. "When you're finished, come find me. I wanna try something." With that, he moved aside, and allowed Gambit and Jubilee to pass. Gambit glanced over his shoulder, and his brow furrowed.  
  
Jubilee looked back and called to him. "Come on... you wanted to find Rogue didn't you?" As she looked at her friend, she felt that all too familiar feeling from when she had first met him. She still found him attractive. He had a certain charm that she was drawn to, and she sometimes thought she was falling in love with her surrogate big brother. But that could never happen... for he was ten years older than her, give or take a year, and he had never shown any signs of feeling that way either. She suppressed the feelings as best she could, but whenever he smiled that smile of his, they overtook her again.  
  
She felt a little uncomfortable in this place with these particular feelings, being in the presence of two psychics, one who was especially powerful.  
  
"I'm coming," Gambit said, throwing his staff in the air and then catching it in his hand with expertise. He strode up to her, and placed his arm around her small shoulders, moving along with her. "Let's go find Rogue then."  
  
They moved through the large oaken doors and out into the warmth of the sunshine.  
  
They stood there, glancing around themselves for a few moments, to try and see where Rogue was... and to their surprise; she was where Logan had said she would be. She was seated on one of the benches at the far end of the grounds, Bobby sitting to one side of her.  
  
"There she is," Jubilee pointed out, looking up to Gambit who nodded and began walking in that direction.  
  
She strode after him, feeling a little too warm in her yellow jacket. He looked perfectly comfortable in his white T-shirt and blue slacks though, and she envied him. She removed her yellow jacket, and tied it around her waist, feeling a little cooler in the afternoon sun.  
  
It took them a few minutes to walk briskly over to the two seated students, who looked up at them in confusion, but Rogue smiled nevertheless.  
  
"Hi, Gambit."  
  
"Hi," he greeted them, nodding at Bobby who smiled at him kindly.  
  
Jubilee stood behind Gambit, keeping quiet, impatient perhaps to get back inside the cool mansion.  
  
"Look, I didn't thank you for earlier, so that's what I came up here for." He smiled. "Thanks."  
  
She smiled back. "Oh... you don't have to thank me."  
  
"Yeah... I do," he said insistently. "It's not often somebody saves my life, and when you did earlier... it meant something to me. Really meant something. So, I have to say thank you for that." He stood in front of them, one end of his staff rested firmly on the ground.  
  
Rogue looked slightly embarrassed, and Jubilee found herself wondering why she should be. Saving someone's life usually wasn't anything to be ashamed or embarrassed of, so why should Rogue be?  
  
"Well," Rogue began, shifting in her seat a little uncomfortably, "I had to do something. So I did. Don't worry about it." She smiled.  
  
Gambit nodded. "Well I'm glad you did do something. Can I just say something?"  
  
Rogue hesitated then nodded.  
  
"Your power... it's really... well, powerful." Gambit's brow furrowed at his own words, then he smiled. "I wouldn't wanna get on the wrong side of you... that's all I can say."  
  
Rogue's head hung a little at that statement, but then she looked up at Gambit, and smiled for a moment.  
  
"Thank you," Gambit repeated.  
  
They remained in silence for a minute at least, before Jubilee spoke up.  
  
"Gambit?" He turned to her. "Logan said he wanted to try something... and that something included you. Don't you think you should get back?"  
  
He sighed, turning back to Rogue and Bobby, smiling and saying goodbye, then turned back to Jubilee and began moving away with her.  
  
"Well, that went well," Gambit mumbled, glancing back over his shoulder at the two younger people.  
  
Jubilee smiled, and turned her head to him. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure she was grateful for what you said."  
  
He seemed distracted somehow, as he glanced at her with distant eyes, and nodded somewhat dreamily.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jubilee asked, touching his arm gently.  
  
He glanced at her. "Nothing." Off Jubilee's doubtful expression, he insisted, "It's nothing... honestly." To back up his claim, he smiled.  
  
They took a leisurely walk back across the peaceful, beautifully kept grounds towards the mansion. Neither spoke, they both simply walked one beside the other, glancing across at each other frequently, yet neither letting the other see their gaze. Jubilee greeted a couple of girls they passed, stopping momentarily for a brief conversation, making plans for the rest of their afternoon.  
  
She smiled at Gambit. "I'm gonna go with Kitty... okay?"  
  
He nodded at her, then smiled at Kitty, "Hi."  
  
Kitty replied similarly.  
  
"I'll see ya' later, Gambit," Jubilee said as she moved away with Kitty and the other girl, waving at her older friend.  
  
Gambit waved back briefly, and then moved on into the mansion.  
  
Kitty laughed quietly, and then turned to Jubilee, glancing behind the new girl at the door where the man had disappeared a few moments before.  
  
"What?" Jubilee asked, glancing over her shoulder also.  
  
"You don't think he's cute?" Kitty exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief. She wore an innocent smile, and her eyes contained a certain sparkle Jubilee had not seen in quite a while.  
  
Jubilee could feel herself going red, as she lied quickly, perhaps too fast, "No... of course not."  
  
Kitty laughed and began walking away again, followed quickly by Jubilee and the other girl.  
  
"What's so funny?" Jubilee demanded, a smile crossing her own young face.  
  
"It's funny because it's so plainly obvious you're lying. You do think he's cute... don't you?" Kitty said, quietly so no one heard them.  
  
Jubilee knew Kitty was going to see right through her petty charade... so she simply looked down at the ground momentarily before glancing back up at Kitty and smiling sheepishly.  
  
Kitty nodded knowingly, then placed her hands on her Jubilee's shoulders. "I knew it. I don't know how... I just knew it." Jubilee opened her mouth to speak, but Kitty cut in, "Don't worry, I won't say a thing to anyone. I promise." 


	14. Chapter 14

Gambit walked down the corridor, turning his head each way when he passed a room or another hallway, searching for Logan as the other mutant had requested he do when he had spoken to Rogue.  
  
Where are you, Logan? he thought, a little annoyed.  
  
Then a false cough in front of him made him start slightly. He turned his head to face the owner of the voice, and smiled, laughing.  
  
"I've been looking everywhere for you."  
  
Logan smiled his own smile, and motioned for him to follow, which he did. "I've been talking to Storm."  
  
"Oh, okay. What for?" Gambit asked, curious if nothing else. It didn't really matter why Logan had been talking to Storm... he just decided he wanted to know.  
  
"Ah, you'll have to wait and see," Logan laughed, mischievously.  
  
Gambit stopped momentarily, his brow furrowing, before he moved once again after Logan, his own curiousity taking over his actions. Logan continued moving, into the elevator and Gambit followed.  
  
Logan turned his head to him, and grinned.  
  
"Going down."  
  
* * *  
  
Scott ducked under the blow Warp sent, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him across the room out of the way of another.  
  
Warp did not smile when Scott was struck by one of his blows, he simply watched as the new mutant scrambled to his feet quickly and turned to face one of the oncoming blows.  
  
He blew the material apart.  
  
Turning to Warp, Scott smiled, looking up through his visor to Magneto, who watched from above. With a wave of his hand, he reactivated the belt, and Scott removed his visor, moving over to Warp.  
  
"Nice try," he said, patting him on the shoulder.  
  
Warp gave a little nod, and moved away to Serena's side, who watched patiently at the side of the room in a large doorway cut from the stone.  
  
They moved away together, leaving Scott and Magneto alone.  
  
Magneto lowered himself gently to the ground using his power, and landed softly before Scott, who was smiling happily to himself.  
  
"That was impressive," Magneto mumbled, loud enough for Scott to hear.  
  
Scott nodded, a little out of breath, as he fiddled with the visor.  
  
"But still, I want you to continue training with the others."  
  
Scott groaned. "I'm ready, Magneto."  
  
Magneto shook his head. "I want you to be like my other team members. Like Sabretooth and Toad... and Mystique. You know how they fight... that's what I want you to be like."  
  
Scott sighed heavily, and glanced up at Magneto with his blue eyes, which still now shocked the older man a little. They even shocked him. He had forgotten what colour they had been so many years ago, never having seen them in the mirror, or have a beautiful girl compliment him on them. Girls had in high school... they had told him just how blue they were, and they would stare into them, and smile at him. Just before the first incident, he had been told they were red... solid red, and no one had seen them after that. Not even he had. Now though, he could see them every time he looked in a mirror, or glanced down into the pools of water in the lair.  
  
He liked it.  
  
He nodded to Magneto. "All right."  
  
"I'll send in Toad."  
  
* * *  
  
"Wow," Gambit exclaimed as they entered the danger room, which he had never even been told of until this point. It was huge, reaching at least thirty feet in height, and spanning great distances each way he looked about himself. The walls were padded and white, as was the floor. The floor was soft enough to walk and land on comfortably, but not enough to hinder one's movement.  
  
Logan turned to him upon entry. "That's exactly what I said when I saw it for the first time." He removed his jacket, left wearing his white vest shirt, and looked up to Storm who stood in an operation room above in a higher level. "Everything okay?"  
  
Her soothing voice could be heard through the high-quality speakers throughout the room, and Gambit found himself looking about to locate them. They were clearly hidden in the walls somewhere, as he was unable to locate even one.  
  
"Everything's fine. We cleared out the systems, and now it's all back to normal. You two shouldn't have any problems."  
  
"What did she just say?" Gambit asked, turning to Logan upon hearing Storm's words.  
  
Logan grinned. "You heard her." He glanced up at the white-haired mutant, and nodded. "Go ahead."  
  
A roar, and a loud feminine laughter filled the room, and Gambit whirled about to see the mutants known as Sabretooth and Mystique standing behind Logan, who was still smiling happily to himself.  
  
"What the hell?" Gambit asked loudly, shifting nervously on his feet, as he glanced behind Logan to the mutants, then back at the smiling Wolverine.  
  
"They're holograms. Very life-like, and in perfect working order, now." Logan laughed. "Me and you, Gambit... we're gonna do a little training."  
  
"Huh?" Gambit was way beyond the point of confusion.  
  
The bestial roar filled the padded room once again, and Sabretooth flew at Logan, who turned quickly, slid out his claws, and thrust them into the mutant's abdomen.  
  
Gambit watched in awe as the image shimmered eerily for a second, and the hologram gave a loud roar of pain. He laughed, and watched as Logan rolled back and on top of Sabretooth, who swiped for him clumsily with his own claws. Logan stabbed at Sabretooth again, this time with both sets of claws, wounding him in the chest, seemingly killing him.  
  
Then, Logan put his claws to Sabretooth's neck, and drove them in.  
  
Gambit winced at the sound.  
  
Logan looked up at him. "You can even kill 'em." Then he looked behind him at the image of Mystique as Sabretooth faded from beneath him. He glanced back at Gambit. "Your turn." He moved quickly over to the side of the room, and out of the door leading up to the operation room to sit with Storm.  
  
"Hey!" Gambit called after him, but he watched as Logan appeared in the room above, and listened to the voice over the speaker.  
  
"You'll be fine!"  
  
Then, before he knew what was going on, something knocked him back and into the wall behind him, knocking the wind from him momentarily. He looked up to see Mystique, who glared back down at him. She seemed so real, and Gambit felt as though she had really hit him.  
  
Fine, he thought, Logan wants to see me play... so I'll play.  
  
As Mystique made another swipe at him, he held his staff up in defence, and her fist struck the metal instead. He stood hurriedly, and took on a defensive posture, as did the hologram of Mystique.  
  
She kicked at him, and he ducked, knocking her other leg out from under her with his staff. She fell to the ground with a grunt, and Gambit laughed excitedly. It felt amazing, and he knew he would have fun.  
  
He slipped his free hand into his pocket quickly, and felt the playing cards he had placed there earlier, after his encounter with Juggernaut. He concealed them in his hand as he brought them out of his pocket, ready for use if necessary.  
  
Mystique stood, and punched him, but he made a quick comeback, making a high kick at her face, knocking her back.  
  
Gambit watched her, and he moved backwards a little, slowly. He decided to show Logan and Storm what they hadn't seen yet.  
  
His power.  
  
He slipped all but one card back into his pocket, and held the other tightly in his gloved hand, keeping his eyes set firmly on Mystique as the two of them regarded each other warily.  
  
She made no move to attack him, and seemingly... neither did he.  
  
He could feel the card in his hand, and the heat building up inside it as he altered the charge inside it. He cast a quick glance down at his hand to see that telltale faint glow emanating from the shape he held. He had no idea why it did that... he just knew it was supposed to be that way. There had always been that faint purple light glowing from the objects he charged, and he had no intention of changing it... even if he could.  
  
Mystique edged forward slightly, but Gambit edged backwards an equal distance.  
  
* * *  
  
"What is he doing?" Storm asked as she observed Gambit below.  
  
Logan looked up at her. "I'm not entirely sure... but I have a faint idea."  
  
Storm looked down at Logan, who resembled the Cheshire Cat from a children's tale. Obviously, he knew what was going on, and he wasn't sharing, and he intended to keep Storm in suspense as to what Gambit was doing.  
  
Well, it was working.  
  
* * *  
  
As Mystique edged closer again, Gambit mimicked her movement, but in the reverse direction. He was running out of space, so he smiled at her, and she cocked her head.  
  
Then he threw the card at her, having felt it was at just the right point of charge, just enough to show her what he was capable of... but not enough to end his fun.  
  
The hologram's eyes went wide as the card drew dangerously close to her. Even if she had wanted to avoid it now, it would have been too late. It was too close to avoid the whole impact.  
  
The card struck her, exploding on impact, knocking her forcefully backward, and into the far wall. She hit the wall hard, and fell to the ground.  
  
Gambit smiled.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh my god," Storm mumbled as she checked the vital signs of the hologram. Gambit's blow had cleanly knocked down almost half of its energy.  
  
"Well, that was new," Logan said, clearly stunned himself.  
  
* * *  
  
Gambit was growing impatient with this hologram, as it took its time rising from the ground once more.  
  
When it had finally risen from the ground, it rushed at him, ploughing into him, and knocking him off his feet. He lost the grip on his staff.  
  
Mystique made a move to kick him, but he rolled away and stood, his weapon no longer in his hand. He was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.  
  
She swiped for him, but he ducked under it, and struck her in the face.  
  
They exchanged blows for quite some time before Gambit decided he had had enough of her. She struck him again, and he then knew he had to end it there and then.  
  
Ducking under her high kick, he dropped to the floor and rolled to where his staff had landed, taking it in his grip firmly. He stood back up quickly, and watched as Mystique ran for him again.  
  
He thought back to that time he had struck that man. This was only a hologram.  
  
He tightened his grip of his staff, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the glow.  
  
* * *  
  
"What is he doing now?" Storm asked, seeing the purple glow emanating from the entire staff Gambit held in his hand.  
  
She glanced down at Logan, and he shrugged, his brow furrowing. He too was in the dark as to what Gambit was up to.  
  
They both watched the two figures below with interest.  
  
* * *  
  
Mystique drew ever closer, and Gambit kept the charge flowing into the staff, altering the atoms deep down in its structure.  
  
Then, when she was close enough for him to strike... he did. He swung the staff round at her, leaving behind a faint purple streak of light that trailed behind it.  
  
Mystique didn't notice until it was too late. Far too late.  
  
With a mighty booming sound, the charged adamantium staff stuck her full on in the stomach, releasing all of the stored energy Gambit had put into it. It all flowed into the hologram, making it too glow a faint purple.  
  
Gambit hadn't known this was going to happen.  
  
Right before his very eyes, the hologram screamed... and exploded completely outward, destroying it. Gambit was knocked back, and rolled with the landing as he had learned to do. He kept his eyes closed until the bright light that had erupted from Mystique's form dissipated completely, leaving him once again in the white padded room, alone.  
  
Panting, and feeling a little drawn, he stood; looking up at Logan and Storm, staff still in hand. The purple light had disappeared from that too.  
  
"Do ya' think I killed her?" he laughed. 


	15. Chapter 15

Scott felt tired, worn out from his training with the rest of the team. He had even begun training with Mystique.  
  
That had been over an hour ago... but they were no longer training. They were back to what they had been doing for the past few days, again. No doubt this annoyed Magneto, but Scott and Mystique didn't care. They did what they wanted to do... most of the time.  
  
They simply sat there now, Mystique in between Scott's legs, her head rested back on his chest, her eyes closed in comfortable relaxation. Scott stared up at the tall ceiling, his thoughts racing.  
  
He thought about how his old team were to be outnumbered drastically by his new one. Mystique, Sabretooth, Toad, Serena, Warp, Magneto and himself... all against Logan, Storm... and Jean. Every time he even thought her name, let alone spoke it... he felt something deep inside himself fighting to break out. He felt ill every time, dizzy even.  
  
Now he avoided thinking it. It was too dangerous to become distracted in such desperate times.  
  
"Scott?" Mystique purred from below him.  
  
He glanced down at her to see her eyes looking up at him, a smile wide on her face.  
  
"How long do you think it will take?"  
  
"What?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in thought and confusion.  
  
She laughed a small laugh. "For Wolverine and the others to be defeated."  
  
Scott smiled too now. "Oh, not long. There's too many of us for them to win. It's three against seven. No chance of them winning."  
  
Mystique seemed pleased. "Good. Then Magneto can change everything. It will all be better."  
  
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding slightly, lost in thought. Then he smiled, and added, "We'll rule the world."  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Xavier listened intently to Logan's account of their danger room training. He was impressed, but not surprised, as Logan seemed to be. He paced back and forth in front of Xavier's desk, and when he looked at the Professor, he wore a smile, and his eyes were wider than usual. Clearly, he had been shocked by what had happened in their session.  
  
Charles, however, could feel all of what Logan was feeling. Everything.  
  
"I didn't know he could do that," Logan said, laughing a little.  
  
Charles nodded. "I doubt he did either. From what you say, his reaction wasn't as though he had planned to do what he did."  
  
Logan nodded, lost in his thought seemingly. Charles could hear what he was thinking; Chuck has a point. The way Gambit was knocked back was as though it had never happened before. Maybe he hadn't known that was going to happen. Maybe he'll do it again... without knowing it. He could hurt someone!  
  
"You don't need to be afraid of him, Logan," Charles told him, opening a physics book on his desk, and skimming through the pages quickly.  
  
"How-" Realisation swept across Logan's face. "You read my mind. Keep forgetting you can do that." He looked even more shocked than he had been before. "It's just that the way he reacted, it was like he didn't know what just happened. If you had seen it, Professor, you would probably feel the same way about it all. If he does do it without realising, he could really do some damage."  
  
"I don't think he'll do it again, Logan. Gambit is a very restrained person... he seems in control of his power. Clearly, he intended to do just as he did, but did not expect the outcome. Perhaps he just put too much power into the blow." Charles explained, hopefully calming Logan. He sensed he had a little.  
  
Logan shrugged, and stopped his pacing, resting his hands on the Professor's desk. "Maybe. I'm just a little worried is all."  
  
"Perfectly understandable, Logan," Charles told him. Then he warned, "Just don't start alienating him because you are worried. We need all the help we can get at the moment."  
  
Logan nodded. Clearly, he understood the Professor's words, and intended to obey them. Perhaps he didn't feel the same way as Xavier did, but he wasn't going to go against him on this particular issue.  
  
Logan turned, saying goodbye, and left.  
  
Charles just stared after him, and shook his head. He needed his team together... calm, and working as a team should.  
  
Without group cooperation, their chances seemed grim.  
  
* * *  
  
Gambit towel-dried his damp hair, feeling refreshed after his shower. The danger room incident had him a little shaken, and he still felt a little drawn after it. He had had no idea that that was going to have happened. He hadn't planned it either. He knew now that he had just put too much power into it, and it had gone a little out of control. But he felt relieved... a little. He now knew he had the power needed if necessary. He didn't really want to use that on a real mutant, but if the situation were to get desperate, then maybe it would be necessary, unavoidable.  
  
Placing the white towel over his shoulder, he put on his gloves, and picked up the black sweatband off the table from next to the pack of playing cards.  
  
Seating himself on the end of his bed, he rubbed the towel on his still damp hair, attempting to dry it off enough to replace the sweatband. Within a few minutes, his hair was dry enough, and he put on the sweatband, ensuring none of his brown hair was caught in it. He had no idea why he wore it... he supposed it was just a habit now. But it also kept his hair out of his face, so it came in handy, especially during battle.  
  
He placed the towel on the end of the bed, and moved over to the table where the cards lay. He donned his brown overcoat, which hung right down to his boots, and placed the cards carefully into his pocket. Then he moved over to the side of the room where he had left his staff beforehand, and took it in his grip.  
  
He moved to the door, opened it, switching off the light inside his room, and exited, closing the door shut behind him. He began walking down the corridor towards the stairs.  
  
Gambit moved quickly down the stairs, and came face-to-face with the boy called Bobby. The boy smiled at him.  
  
"Hi," Bobby greeted.  
  
"Hi," Gambit said in reply, spinning the staff once, and resting it carefully on the cleaned floor.  
  
"Have you seen Jubilee?" Bobby asked, shifting on his feet as he spoke, as if uneasy.  
  
Gambit thought for a moment, then he realised he hadn't seen her since she had gone off with the girl called Kitty. "Actually, I haven't."  
  
"Oh," Bobby mumbled to himself. He moved to walk away, but Gambit stopped him.  
  
"Why are you looking for her?" Gambit asked, once again feeling that sibling concern for the younger mutant.  
  
Bobby smiled a little smile, and said, "She said she was going to meet me and Rogue for lunch... but she didn't."  
  
Gambit now felt worried. "All right. I'll look for her for you. I saw her with Kitty about two hours ago, but I haven't seen her since. I'll find her... don't worry."  
  
Bobby nodded and smiled a grateful smile. "Thanks. Tell her we're still ready to go for lunch if she wants to. We waited for her."  
  
"Okay, I will." With that, Gambit moved away from Bobby, leaving the young boy looking on after him.  
  
Gambit moved quickly down the corridor, his overcoat's tail trailing out behind him. He walked out of the open doors, and into the summer day. It had cooled down a little now and it wasn't hot like it had been that morning.  
  
His eyes scanned the area, searching for Jubilee. He couldn't see her anywhere. His worry had just doubled in a matter of seconds.  
  
Damn it, Jubilee, he thought frantically as teenagers milled around him, where are you?  
  
He walked through the crowds of children, who moved quickly out of his way, and turned on the spot, looking in all directions for her.  
  
He stood completely still for a second, taking in a deep breath.  
  
Calm down, she's gotta be fine. She's on the school grounds, so nothing bad could happen. Then he remembered what had happened to the boy Bobby, and to Rogue. Then he almost did panic, and he fought back the urge to cry out her name.  
  
He began moving over to the edge of the massive building, thinking maybe she had gone round there to talk with Kitty or something like that. But as he looked round to the side of the building, he only saw two boys sitting down eating their lunch in the shade. He apologised for scaring them, and moved away.  
  
He was getting a little frightened, and his imagination was playing up.  
  
Catching site of the usual group of boys playing basketball, he moved over to them. One boy he recognised as Billy saw him standing at the side of the court, and moved over, basketball bouncing up and down on the ground in front of him.  
  
"Hi. Wanna play?" Billy asked, an innocent smile on his young face.  
  
Gambit shook his head, curtains of hair shaking also, falling in front of his eyes slightly. He shook them back, and asked, "Have you or any of the others seen Jubilee, or Kitty?"  
  
Billy thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "I haven't. Hang on, I'll ask the other guys."  
  
Then, before Gambit's eyes, the boy disappeared from where he stood, leaving the basketball to bounce to a standstill near Gambit's feet. Gambit was a little stunned.  
  
Then the boy reappeared next to the group of boys, and Gambit could see them conversing. The boy vanished from the group with a shimmer, then rematerialized in front of Gambit. Gambit laughed a quiet laugh, and smiled.  
  
"Sorry, none of us have seen 'em." Billy smiled, picking the basketball off the floor, and throwing it to the other boys, who then continued to play without hesitation.  
  
Gambit sighed restlessly, and twirled the staff, much to the boy's interest. "Okay. If you see Jubilee, tell her I was looking for her, okay?"  
  
Billy nodded. "You're Gambit right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's me. You'll make sure you tell her... if you see her?"  
  
"Will do," Billy agreed, then disappeared, appearing again suddenly amidst the boys on the court.  
  
Gambit smiled again, then turned and moved away.  
  
* * *  
  
Jean sat with Storm, and took a sip from her coffee, which had started to cool down a little now. Opposite them was Dmitri, who had a sketchbook open in front of him, and a pencil in his hand. Jean couldn't quite see what he was drawing, so she inquired.  
  
He looked up at her suddenly, perhaps having forgot his company. "Oh, here." He handed them the book, and he seemed a little embarrassed.  
  
Jean couldn't see why. It was an excellent drawing. She smiled as soon as she saw it, realising instantly that it was a drawing of Storm and herself.  
  
"This is really good," Jean complimented, and Dmitri smiled.  
  
Storm took the book from Jean, and smiled instantly. "Wow. Did you draw this just now?"  
  
"Yeah," Dmitri said, nodding. "I've been drawing for years. It keeps my mind off what's going on around me. Keeps me calm most of the time."  
  
"Do you mind if I look through the book?" Jean asked, accepting it back off Storm, who pushed some of her salad lunch around her plate with her fork.  
  
Dmitri shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead. I like people's opinion of my work."  
  
So Jean closed the book, and began looking through from the beginning. Every drawing and painting she looked at impressed her. She had never seen such talent. There were several landscape drawings, probably from his travels, and a lot of animal sketches; birds, wolves, insects and even a bear in a river. There were drawings of plants as well.  
  
As she scanned through, admiring each piece, she noticed there were a lot of drawings of Jubilee.  
  
"Does she pose for you?" she asked Dmitri, who took a quick look at what she meant, and nodded.  
  
"She likes posing for me. It gives her something to do."  
  
Jean smiled, and nodded, turning the page. It was a coloured drawing of Gambit sitting alone at a table playing cards. She could tell from the way Dmitri had drawn it, that Gambit had been incredibly bored or annoyed at that time. Looking at it, it seemed so real. Jean smiled, and turned the page to see a drawing of Jubilee asleep across Gambit's lap.  
  
"Where did this happen?" Jean asked, showing Dmitri the page in question.  
  
"That was on a train in Virginia. That was about three months ago. We'd had to leave town quite quickly."  
  
"Why?" Storm inquired.  
  
"Some men had started hassling Jubilee, and Gambit had stepped in. And, well, you know... they fought. Gambit did some pretty serious damage. So we ran," Dmitri explained.  
  
"They're really close, aren't they?" Jean asked, staring admiringly at the drawing before her on the table.  
  
Dmitri nodded and smiled. "Yeah. They're like brother and sister. Gambit looks after her, and she always stays close to him. Gambit always has looked after her... ever since we met. Like a big brother to Jubilee. It's hard to separate them sometimes. She watches him do card tricks all the time, and he barely ever gets annoyed with her."  
  
"And what is your place in the group?" Storm asked, taking a sip of orange juice.  
  
"Well, I'm like the parent. I look after both of them. When Gambit can't handle a situation alone, I step in. I don't like doing it, but sometimes it's necessary. You know?"  
  
The two women nodded, and Jean closed the sketchbook, handing it back to Dmitri.  
  
"I've never seen drawings like that before. You have a lot of talent, Dmitri," Jean told him with a friendly smile.  
  
"Thank you. I do it for a hobby though. I'm not after money for it," Dmitri replied, and placed his pencil down on top of the closed sketchbook.  
  
Jean realised how much people misunderstood Dmitri. They all thought of him as some huge monster that would crush you in a second without a thought about it... but in truth, he was a very placid person. It seemed as though he wouldn't hurt a fly. But he was powerful; Jean knew that much, and he would help greatly in their fight with Magneto, when the time came.  
  
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, making both Jean and Storm start. Gambit came walking in swiftly, and stood before them at the table, great expressions of worry plastered across his handsome face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jean asked, sensing something troubling from the Cajun.  
  
He looked between the three of them. "I can't find Jubilee. I've looked everywhere, and I can't find her. I can't even find Kitty."  
  
"Kitty?" Dmitri inquired, looking up to Gambit.  
  
Gambit sat at the table opposite Storm. "Yeah, the girl who Jubilee went off with. But now I can't even find her."  
  
"Calm down, Gambit. I'm sure they're around somewhere," Jean reassured.  
  
Gambit shook his head, resting his staff up against a nearby wall. "No. I looked everywhere. Asked around. No one's seen 'em in a couple of hours at least."  
  
Jean herself now felt a little worried. "Well, where did you see them last?"  
  
Gambit thought for a moment or two, then looked back at Jean. "It was about two hours ago, before I met up with Logan. They were heading towards the end of the building."  
  
Jean now fully believed what Dmitri had told them about Gambit's relationship with Jubilee. He truly did care deeply for her. "I think we should go see the Professor."  
  
"What? Why?" Gambit asked, and Jean smiled.  
  
"You'll see," Jean said, and she, Storm and Dmitri rose from the table, Gambit trailing behind, staff in hand.  
  
"Why do people keep sayin' that to me today?" he complained.  
  
Jean smiled. 


End file.
